As recent as ten years ago, parents were yelling at their teenagers to turn their “crappy music” down- a sign of a generational gap based on differences in music taste. Generational gaps like the aforementioned are not limited to American teenagers; youngsters in Hong Kong experience a similar miscommunication with their grandparents over their love for fast-food- McDonalds in particular. Like most globalized commodities, McDonalds appeals to the cosmopolitan experience that people desire, therefore youngsters in Hong Kong choose to eat there versus the “dim sam teahouse” alternatives that their grandparents prefer. Just as I have to teach my grandmother how to text or navigate her voicemail inbox, the youngsters of Hong Kong have to teach their grandparents how to eat at McDonalds as a preferred snack. The same grandparents that were not comfortable eating “han bou bao” at McDonalds probably experienced similar issues with their elders with the shift from eating at teahouses instead of at home happened years ago. My grandmother’s apprehension with “newfangled things” mirrors the reservations of grandparents in Hong Kong about eating at McDonalds. Nothing about the experience of generational gaps through McDonalds is different than the generational gaps felt by American elders with technology or music preference. While one may argue that McDonalds is being “imposed upon” the “delicate, untouched” culture of Hong Kong, Mcdonalds is no different than new technology in America: popular among younger people and hard to grasp for older people. Hong Kong is not an isolated city; just like any place in the world it is vulnerable to changes in technology or food. Changes do not indicate a seige of culture but a shift in culture.
Full Text: McDonald’s in Hong Kong: Consumerism, Dietary Change, and the Rise of a Children’s Culture
