Consuming Midnights: Indonesian Youths’ Stay-Up-Late Lifestyle in Branded Places

B. S. Wijaya

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18848/2327-008X/CGP/v17i01/17-30

Abstract

This article inquires into the meanings associated with urban youths’ stay-up-late lifestyle in 24-hour branded cafés and convenience stores. These branded places are spreading now, in both big and small cities of Indonesia. Providing free Internet access and cozy sitting spots, they are a magnet for youths, who crowd up there with their “work gadgets,” such as laptops and smartphones or sometimes just chat with friends through the night, consuming snacks and beverages. Using a qualitative approach, we observed and interviewed some informants and found that the stay-up-late lifestyle for urban youth is a form of insomniac expression for worldly pleasure and the desire to succeed, intertwined with a workaholic identity construction. These personal discourses are inseparable from the media and social discourse that develops within the community.

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Cite this article (7th APA style): Wijaya, B. S. (2021). Consuming Midnights: Indonesian Youths’ Stay-Up-Late Lifestyle in Branded Places. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies, 17(1), 17-30. https://doi.org/10.18848/2327-008X/CGP/v17i01/17-30

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