The family in Asia In this report we highlight some of the key trends, constants and

shifts in Asian family dynamics.

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Foreword

Foresight Factory (formerly Future Foundation) is a consumer analytics company, specialising in trends. We blend data to predict and size commercial opportunity and have partnered with our clients over 20 years to help them be truly customer centric in their decision-making.

This report is drawn from multiple insight sources including 10,000+ APAC consumers across 8 markets; qualitative insights from social media listening; commentary from our global network of 500 Trendspotters; and thousands of fresh examples of commercial innovation across 20 key industry sectors

The data is analysed by our team of in-house experts who adjust for regional differences and compare the results against third party data sources to unearth, monitor and forecast the salient trends that will guide consumer behaviour and commercial expectation now and in the future. The ultimate purpose? To help companies and brands determine how to act.

Respondents to the survey are aged 16+ and the sample is weighted to be nationally representative of the offline population across age, gender and region.

Setting the scene: the family in Asia

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-40% -20%

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Across Asia, the family is seriously influential over all manner of life choices - where to go to school, who and when to marry, where to live...

Source (influence of family): FFonline Research │ Base: 1000-5000 online respondents per country aged 16-64 (Indonesia, Mexico & S. Africa 16-54), 2014 Source (living with adults, family traditions, eating a meal with family): FFonline Research | Base: 1000-2000 online respondents per country aged 16+ (China 16-64), 2015

September

Setting the scene: the centrality of the family in Asia

“Thinking about each of the following, would you

say you are more or less influenced by them now

compared to in the past?” │ Family More

influenced

Less

influenced

of Chinese consumers say family

traditions are very or quite

important to their sense of identity 80%

% who live with each of the following

Global

average China Japan

Mother 20% 35% 29%

Father 15% 28% 21%

Grown-up

Children 11% 17% 15%

Only 3% of Chinese respondents

have not had a meal with family

at home in the past 12 months,

compared with a global average

of 14% who have not done so.

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Despite the importance of family in Asia, traditional notions of family ties appear to be eroding somewhat.

Generation Y consumers are moving out of the family home earlier than in the past, in direct contrast to Western markets where the phenomenon of Boomerang kids moving back home is seen as a major shift.

More, some younger consumers (women in particular) are less actively seeking out a partner, and instead are chasing careers, causing tension with older relatives.

Rapid urbanisation is also splitting the family geographically.

Source: FFonline Research | Base: 1000-2000 online respondents per country aged 16+ (China 16-64), 2015 September

Setting the scene: the fracturing of the family in Asia

The number of adults in China living with

grown-up children decreased from 24%

in February 2014 to 17% in September

2015.

▲ The 2016 documentary The Family Affair is

addressing such changing norms. The show

follows life in four family homes across Asia,

highlighting the tensions and struggles faced as a

result of shifting attitudes and values. One storyline

follows 27-year-old Niraj and his family’s attempts

to get him married off.

Key trends for the family in Asia

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It is well established that in Asian countries parents have a huge influence over children's choices - of career path, life partner, health-related issues and other key life decisions.

Much has already been written on the rigours of an aspirational Chinese education system that targets elite Western universities on behalf of its cohorts. Strong traditions of culture and religion make parental intervention in relationship-planning a reality for many in Indonesia and India.

The prospect of success and achievement is difficult to ignore, especially in Asian markets where, aside from Japan, over 50% of consumers see the prospects of their children as being better than their own. Thus, many may view meddling as an acceptable way to encourage children to reach their full potential.

Source (children should have freedom to make mistakes): Havas Worldwide, The New Dynamics of Family, Prosumer Report, Base: 6,767 online respondents per country aged 20+, 2014*

Source (children being better off): Pew Global Attitudes/FFOnline | Base: 1,000-5,000 telephone and face-to-face respondents per country, aged 18+, 2015**

Heavy Meddle Parents

50% of Indonesian respondents, and 62%

of Taiwanese respondents believe that it’s

important to give children the freedom to

make mistakes vs. over 90% of respondents

in the UK, US, Mexico and Australia.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

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India

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Indo

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2014 2015

“When children today grow up, do you think

they will be better off or worse off financially

than their parents?” | % who believe children

will be better off

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Despite the serious influence Asian parents have on their children’s lives, Asian Gen Y consumers are pushing back against this and seeking greater autonomy and independence from their parents. Recent advertising campaigns highlight this change, showing young people, and young women in particular, fighting back against parental influence.

Rapid urbanisation is reducing the geographical influence and day-to-day pressure parents can place over their children. Young people are moving out of the family home earlier - 45% of unmarried consumers in China’s urban areas live alone, a shift which a report from the National Health and Family Planning Commission in China described as “a sharp break from the traditional practice of living with one’s parents until marriage”.

Source: National Health and Family Planning Commission, The China Family Development Report, Base: 32,500 households, China, 2015

Heavy Meddle Parents: A loosened grip?

◄ In 2016 Indian beauty brand Banjara’s

launched a campaign against skin lightening,

urging older generations not to pressure

younger relatives to use whitening products.

The video campaign features a young female

sports star whose grandmother urges her not

to play out in the sun and to use whitening

cream on her skin. The young woman rejects

her grandmother’s hints and throws the

product in the bin in defiance.

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Despite changing demographic make-up and transforming family dynamics, attitudes towards gender roles and household responsibilities have remained stagnant in some Asian markets. Until very recently, women were expected to give up work upon starting a family, and the definition of wife was still equated to housewife. On average, Asian women spend half an hour more per day than men doing household chores.

In many East and Southeast Asian markets, such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, very low fertility rates are viewed as a serious problem and some have attributed this to the lack of attitudinal change regarding women and family, arguing that many Asian women will choose a career over family when pushed to select just one.

In China, unmarried women over the age of 30 are still often referred to as sheng nu or “leftover women”, even by family members.

Source: FFonline Research │ Base: Respondents referring to a weekday among 1000-5000 online respondents per country aged 16-64 (Indonesia, Mexico & S. Africa 16-54), 2014

Source (traditional roles): Havas Worldwide, The New Dynamics of Family, Prosumer Report, Base: 6,767 online respondents per country aged 20+, 2014*

The Gender Imbalance

Around 2 in 3 respondents in India and

Indonesia would like to see the man retain

his traditional role within the home, versus

17% of respondents in France and Portugal.

0.0

0.5

1.0

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2.0

2.5

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Male Female

“Thinking specifically about yesterday, how long

did you spend on the following? Doing household

chores” │ Mean hours

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Now, brands and younger consumers are pushing back against gender norms with greater force and frequency. Brands are seeking to empower women to make choices based on their own desires and to pursue their own ambitions, as well as trying to provoke attitudinal change by highlighting outdated perceptions of women.

The Gender Imbalance: responses

◄ Japanese beauty brand SK-II’s Leftover Women advert

highlighted the pressures placed on Chinese women to marry. The

brand took over Shanghai’s marriage market with portraits of

unmarried women with quotes explaining why they had not yet

chosen to marry, one woman for example said she didn’t want to get

married “just for the sake of marriage”.

▼ The imbalance in household responsibility was

addressed in 2016 by P&G’s Ariel laundry brand

in India with the award winning “share the load”

campaign.

▼ Released at the end of 2015, the

#LoveMyExpressions campaign from skincare

brand Pond’s showed women expressing their

emotions, without fear of judgement.

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We measure high uptake of social media and messaging apps by consumers of all ages in Asia, but in particular among older age groups where we see much higher penetration than among non-Asian markets. This is driving a trend in Asia for online familial communication.

Urbanisation and migration have also played a role here, driving families to find more creative ways to stay in touch even when in different countries. It is now just so much easier to keep up-to-date or seamlessly share any news or advice via the family WeChat group or shared online calendar.

Source (urban population): United Nations, World Urbanization Report 2014 Source (social networking): FFonline Research | Base: 1000-5000 online respondents per country aged 16-64 (Indonesia & S. Africa 16-54), 2016 February

The Networked Family

% of 55-64s who have communicated with

someone via a social networking website in the

last 6 months

79%

87%

88%

96%

68%

China

India

Malaysia

Thailand

Global Average

0%

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80% 100%

Ma

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1980 2015 2030

% of population residing in urban areas | United Nations

projections released in June 2014

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Solo Seekers

The Family

Formation Delay

Heavy Meddle

Parents

The Gender

Imbalance

Respect Your

Elders

The Networked

Family Family Travel

All themes presented in the full report:

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About Foresight Factory

Foresight Factory, formerly Future Foundation, works with some of the world's leading companies to help them 'Own the Future'.

Globally headquartered in London, with offices in New York, Singapore and Stockholm we are masters of prediction, constantly scouring the globe to pick apart behaviour, spotting trends and disruption before they happen.

Our principal delivery? A unique and highly customisable digital platform, FFonline, that marries best-in-class data science with editorial creativity, to give our 200+ clients 24/7 access to predictive insights from 50,000 consumer voices and a global network of 500 Trendspotters across 80 markets. We also offer consultancy, undertaking custom projects to help clients answer complex questions.

To find out more about Foresight Factory, please visit www.foresightfactory.co where you can request a demo of FFonline, or contact our team.