Globalized adolescence: tracking the developmental implications of modern globalization in Thailand

Abstract

This repeated cross-sectional study examines differences in Millennial and Generation Z Thai adolescent moral values and explores the relationship between Gen Z media use and moral values. In 2012 and 2023, ethnographic fieldwork was conducted and data were collected in a provincial city and a nearby rural district in northern Thailand. In 2012, participants included 40 Millennial adolescents (Mage = 17.30, evenly divided by rural and urban contexts); in 2023, participants included 60 Gen Z adolescents (Mage = 17.47, evenly divided by rural and urban contexts). Quantitative analysis of endorsement of Autonomy, Community and Divinity values revealed differences in moral values across generational cohorts, with cohort differences being most pronounced among adolescents in the rural context. Whereas urban and rural Gen Z participants endorsed Divinity values less than Millennial participants, patterns for Community and Autonomy values differed by ecological context. Results also revealed distinct links between media use and moral values among Gen Z adolescents, with patterns that varied by ecological context. This study speaks to the volatility and stability of adolescent moral values in the face of shifting exposure to intercultural contact-particularly by way of technological integration. Findings highlight within-nation heterogeneity in how constellations of moral values adapt to contemporary cultural transformation. This article is part of the theme issue 'Transforming cultural evolution research and its application to global futures'.