Vietnam Unites With Laos And Indonesia: Are Influencers And Their Selfies Destroying Southeast Asia’s Rich Cultures?

Published on October 30, 2025

Social media has undeniably reshaped nan taste and societal scenery crossed nan globe. In Southeast Asia, this translator has been thing short of remarkable. With complete 482 cardinal societal media users crossed nan region, platforms specified arsenic Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube person go cardinal drivers of younker culture, influencing everything from manner and beauty trends to governmental sermon and recreation destinations. However, arsenic nan power of integer personalities continues to grow, a analyzable and often arguable mobility arises: Are influencers and their selfie civilization eroding nan rich, divers section traditions of Southeast Asia? This is peculiarly evident successful countries for illustration Vietnam, Laos, and Indonesia, wherever influencers person achieved tremendous popularity, but their rising power whitethorn travel astatine nan costs of centuries-old taste practices.

The Rise of Influencers successful Southeast Asia

The maturation of societal media successful Southeast Asia is remarkable, pinch nan region’s societal media assemblage expanding by leaps and bounds successful caller years. In Vietnam alone, 71% of net users travel influencers, and a akin inclination is seen successful Indonesia, wherever 68% of net users are engaged pinch influencer contented (source: Mili). Influencers successful Southeast Asia are not conscionable individuals pinch ample followings; they are taste juggernauts, shaping user behavior, creating trends, and moreover affecting governmental opinions.

These influencers often beforehand a manner that is highly aspirational. Fashion, beauty, and recreation are nan ascendant themes, often presented successful a curated, polished mode designed to animate followers to emulate their lifestyle. While influencers tin beryllium seen arsenic trailblazers and taste icons, this accelerated emergence has not travel without its challenges. The allure of a glamorous, luxury-oriented manner that galore influencers beforehand risks overshadowing and moreover undermining accepted values and taste practices.

The question, therefore, becomes whether this newfound taste powerfulness is disrupting nan very cloth of Southeast Asia’s section identities, particularly successful countries for illustration Vietnam, Laos, and Indonesia, wherever section traditions tally heavy and taste practice is intricately tied to nan regular lives of nan people.

Cultural Impact successful Vietnam, Laos, and Indonesia

Vietnam: A Struggle Between Tradition and Modernity

Vietnam, pinch its rich | history and profoundly rooted taste practices, is witnessing a displacement successful really nan younger procreation engages pinch their heritage. Traditional Vietnamese customs, specified arsenic nan Lunar New Year (Tết) celebrations, ancestor worship, and people music, person been integral parts of nan Vietnamese personality for centuries. However, nan emergence of influencer civilization is creating a generational divide. While older generations proceed to worth accepted practices, younger people, peculiarly municipality youth, are progressively drawn to nan globalized trends promoted by influencers connected societal media.

Many young Vietnamese, particularly successful awesome cities for illustration Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, are now much acquainted pinch Western trends, popular culture, and manner arsenic they are showcased by influencers. The civilization of taking selfies successful beforehand of iconic locations, which is often encouraged by influencers to boost engagement, leads galore to prioritize individual image complete community-centered practices. As a result, less young group are participating successful accepted taste activities for illustration family rituals and people performances, which, while still celebrated, are seen arsenic little glamorous compared to nan influencer-driven lifestyle.

Influencers successful Vietnam have, however, besides taken steps to beforehand section culture. Some influencers item accepted Vietnamese clothing, specified arsenic nan áo dài, aliases stock aspects of agrarian life that are seldom seen successful nan mainstream media. Yet, nan overwhelming power of world trends tin still overshadow these efforts.

Laos: Preserving Cultural Identity Amid Global Influences

Laos, 1 of Southeast Asia’s astir culturally rich | nations, is facing its ain unsocial group of challenges owed to nan power of societal media. With a organization that has traditionally lived successful comparative isolation, nan internet—and particularly platforms for illustration Instagram and YouTube—have opened up caller worlds. While this has led to greater vulnerability to world cultures, it has besides presented risks to nan preservation of accepted Lao values.

In Laos, indigenous traditions for illustration nan Buddhist New Year (Pi Mai) and section creation performances person been cardinal to nan nation’s personality for centuries. However, arsenic young group go much engrossed successful nan world of influencers, immoderate of these age-old traditions are astatine consequence of being forgotten. Influencers often endorse manner and beauty standards that whitethorn not align pinch Laos’ accepted values. Globalization, brought connected by nan accessibility of societal media, has created a business wherever accepted Lao aesthetics are often sidelined successful favour of a much “global” appearance.

Interestingly, immoderate Laotian influencers person utilized their platforms to span this spread by combining accepted fashion, specified arsenic wearing silk scarves aliases taste costumes, pinch modern trends. Yet, it is still a situation to forestall section personality from becoming diluted. The blend of world manner pinch accepted styles, while innovative, besides prompts questions astir whether nan characteristic of Lao civilization will past successful a integer property wherever nan ascendant civilization tends to travel from nan West.

Indonesia: A Nation Struggling to Balance Modernity and Tradition

Indonesia is 1 of nan astir culturally divers nations successful nan world, pinch complete 700 chopped languages and galore taste groups. The diverseness of taste expressions, including accepted dances, music, and art, is portion of what makes Indonesia unique. However, nan accelerated emergence of influencers successful nan state has led to concerns astir nan imaginable nonaccomplishment of this taste diversity.

In Indonesia, influencers often endorse a peculiar “Instagram-ready” lifestyle, promoting a homogenized image that whitethorn not bespeak nan nation’s immense taste diversity. From Bali’s beaches to Jakarta’s municipality sprawl, influencer contented is often curated to bespeak a globalized type of Indonesian identity. This has sparked interest among taste preservationists who reason that nan country’s indigenous cultures and languages are being overshadowed by a uniform, commercialized practice of Indonesia.

For example, accepted Indonesian dances and music, specified arsenic nan Javanese aliases Balinese creation forms, whitethorn beryllium overshadowed by nan much “popular” trends of world beauty standards, accelerated fashion, and luxury travel. As influencers beforehand a singular, world image of beauty and wealth, indigenous traditions are astatine consequence of becoming little visible, and taste practices that were erstwhile portion of mundane life whitethorn beryllium forgotten.

However, location person been efforts by Indonesian influencers to beforehand nan rich | diverseness of nan country. Some influencers item section crafts, accepted music, and location festivals. Yet, these attempts to item taste pridefulness are often overshadowed by nan overwhelming beingness of world influencers whose contented is not tailored to bespeak Indonesia’s analyzable taste makeup.

The Double-Edged Sword of Influence

Social media influencers wield tremendous power, but pinch this powerfulness comes responsibility. On 1 hand, influencers person nan expertise to beforehand taste exchange, summation consciousness astir biology issues, and empower section communities by providing them pinch a platform. They tin expose caller audiences to section traditions and practices, celebrating nan characteristic of different cultures crossed Southeast Asia.

On nan different hand, influencers often perpetuate a very circumstantial image of what it intends to beryllium “successful” aliases “beautiful” successful nan modern world. The idealized versions of beauty and manner promoted by galore influencers tin beforehand a consumerist mentality that places higher worth connected worldly wealthiness and beingness quality alternatively than community, tradition, and culture. This tin consequence successful nan commodification of taste symbols and practices, turning what was erstwhile ineffable and meaningful into specified contented for likes, shares, and sponsorships.

Furthermore, nan dispersed of influencer civilization has led to nan emergence of what immoderate person dubbed “deinfluencers”—individuals who critique aliases situation nan norms group by influencers. The deinfluencer activity emphasizes authenticity, self-expression, and conscious consumerism, focusing connected sustainability and ethical choices alternatively than conforming to trends. While this is simply a promising consequence to nan antagonistic aspects of influencer culture, it is still an emerging unit that has not yet afloat altered nan communicative group by nan mainstream influencers.

The Path Forward: Preserving Cultural Identity successful nan Digital Age

As Southeast Asia navigates this quickly changing integer landscape, it is important to find a equilibrium betwixt embracing modernization and preserving section taste identities. There are respective steps that tin beryllium taken to guarantee that accepted cultures are not mislaid amidst nan world power of societal media:

1. Promoting Cultural Education: Schools and communities should prioritize acquisition that celebrates accepted customs and practices. Young group should beryllium taught astir nan rich | taste history of their countries to instill pridefulness and appreciation for section heritage. The integration of accepted taste acquisition into schoolhouse curricula tin play a cardinal domiciled successful preserving these practices.
2. Supporting Local Creators: Influencers who observe and beforehand indigenous cultures should beryllium fixed much visibility. Encouraging influencers to create contented that showcases section traditions, languages, and creation forms tin thief foster a much authentic practice of Southeast Asian cultures successful nan integer world.
3. Regulating Content: Governments and societal media platforms tin activity together to create guidelines that guarantee nan respectful practice of taste elements. Content creators should beryllium encouraged to attack taste symbols pinch respect and knowing alternatively than exploiting them for commercialized purposes.
4. Community Engagement: Local communities should beryllium actively progressive successful contented creation, ensuring that nan portrayal of their civilization is authentic and respectful. Community-based integer projects tin thief span nan spread betwixt world trends and section traditions, ensuring that some tin coexist successful a measurement that enriches taste diversity.

Conclusion

The power of societal media personalities successful Southeast Asia is undeniable. Influencers style not only trends successful fashion, beauty, and manner but besides taste perceptions and societal values. While influencers person nan imaginable to raise world consciousness of Southeast Asia’s rich | taste heritage, their effect is simply a double-edged sword. The unit to conform to world beauty standards and worldly wealthiness ideals tin undermine nan region’s divers traditions and taste identities.

By embracing a much nuanced and respectful attack to contented creation and taste representation, Southeast Asia tin proceed to thrive successful nan integer property without sacrificing nan richness of its taste heritage. It will require corporate effort from influencers, creators, and section communities to guarantee that nan region’s traditions are not near down successful nan unreserved towards modernization.

For further exploration of really influencers effect indigenous cultures and nan integer ecosystem, sojourn these articles:

• Influencers put isolated indigenous groups astatine consequence for YouTube views
• Online influencers request ‘urgent’ fact-checking training, warns Unesco