May 14, 2008
If the 1980s created Yuppies (young urban professionals) and the 1990s brought us Bobos (bourgeois bohemians), the 2000s may be giving rise to a new kind of elite: YAWN – Young And Wealthy but Normal. Though sounding like a pretty silly acronym, YAWN is like Yuppies Version 2.0, updated for an environmentally conscious, philanthropy-crazed age. Whereas Yuppies were materialistic, shallow and elitist, they are supposed to be altruistic, down-to-earth and globally aware.
They are people in their twenties to forties who are usually wealthy through their own work. Many of them are self-made millionaires and have a lot of disposable income. However, they prefer to live simple lives away from excessive consumerism. They usually live very much beneath their means and like to purchase local produce. They are also more environmentally friendly and philanthropic because they want to save the world with their money and they really think they could do it. They live relatively muted lives and they do not have as much entertainment value as other rich people, and thus the Sunday Telegraphy of London coined the acronym YAWN to indicate that these people live somewhat boring lives, just doing good deeds, staying relatively private, and raising good kids.
The ultimate status symbol for a YAWN is a personal foundation, rather than a private yacht or jet (though many have those, too). The YAWN uniform is jeans, a recycled T-shirt and charity bracelets. The patron saint of Yawn-hood is Bill Gates.
The concept of social responsibility may have contributed to the emergence of this new class of wealthy individuals. All in all, these individuals can be a great benefit for society because they redistribute a vast amount of wealth for social good. However, it may be difficult to become a YAWN because it can be very tempting for wealthy young people to be drawn to more extravagant lifestyles.
【作者: zhangliping】【访问统计:】【2008年05月14日 星期三 05:28】【注册】【打印】
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