Week 3 - Personal Observation & Emerging Issues

Since I am doing a trend report of the growth of streaming services, especially for the Indonesian audience, I have noticed some changes throughout the years. Since COVID-19 strikes, cinemas are a goner. Young Indonesians now connect with each other through online streaming. It is now the new form of socializing.

Sure, it reduces the gap between people overseas, but I do think it is creating even more gap within the society. People have been more individualistic now. There has been lack of conversations. About the world and about what is actually happening.

One of the emerging issues I found in this current society is media manipulation. Young generations consume a lot of media. Whether it's from Instagram, Twitter, TikTok. There has been lack of critical thinking within the audience, so messages are easily misinterpreted. I think this actually affects how young generations grow as humans, or as designers. As designers need to be responsible and aware of the surroundings. It is difficult to see when there are a lot of strings involved here. I think a lot of us young designers are facing the same problem here. We haven't been able to identify what is really the problem here. Jumping directly into solutions and whatnot.

From the class discussion, we talked about how Gen Z's feel a lot more than the previous generations. It can be a blessing or a curse, I would say. Yes, emotions are important, but it does sometimes cloud our judgement.

I think as young designers, we can start by taking a step back from social media and the internet in general. Though it is a platform for us to gain informations about trends, we can actually observe them right here and how, in the physical world. Trend lives within us, and we just need space and time to see it. To really see. And to analyze. After all, we design for, from, and with people. Let us start with really connecting with them.

What does it mean to be human? To appreciate the connection that has managed to build all this in the first place. We need to look into the past to build the future.