Living in San Francisco, I see Asian American teens everywhere. But apart from just watching them on the street or outside the Sony Metreon drinking Bubble Tea, I have to admit, I don't know very much about this demographic. While they are far from a monolithic group, new research born out of a partnership between Kate Rigg, an Asian-American performer and playwright and SnapDragon Consultants offers some really interesting insights. According to the press release, "Over the past four months, Rigg interviewed students ages 14-23 in nine cities and towns (Amherst/MA, Anchorage, Honolulu, New York, Oakland, Portland/ME, San Jose, San Francisco, Seattle). They shared their thoughts, feelings and dreams around growing up in America."

Here are the "Ten Things Every Brand Should Know About Asian- American Youth":

1. Many Asian-American youth feel excluded and misunderstood by most brands. It's made worse by the fact that they see advertisers actively wooing the African-American and Hispanic markets.

2. Mixed race kids are proudly identifying as Hapa, a once derogatory word in Hawaiian to mean "half." Hapa is also slang for marijuana in Japanese (spelled Happa). Hapa is supplanting terms like Amerasian, biracial, and blasian.

3. Asian-American youth are secret fans of "easy listening" adult contemporary music. Lite FM is a hidden passion.

4. There's a "hero gap" among Asian-American kids, which is being filled for many by activists from other cultures. Martin Luther King is a role model and hero to many young Asian-Americans.

5. Most Asian-American kids refer to white people as "white people" the same way African-Americans do.

6. Underage gambling is huge. The "new" American poker obsession is nothing new to Asian-American kids. Gambling has a long history in Asian culture. Many students Rigg spoke with are avid online gamblers and card players. Some organize private online poker tournaments.

7. Asian-American kids want an end to the hyper-nerdy images of themselves on TV and want to see more punked-out skater and graffiti DJ images which reflect a different energy. The feeling is: Enough with the math geeks, future doctors and violinists. Asian-American kids crave street credibility -- not just academic accolades.

8. Asian-American kids universally hate the question: Where are you from -- especially since the answers are usually something like "Westchester" or "Boston."

9. All things Korean are hot and getting hotter. Fashion. Foods. DJs. Online communities. Korea is the new Japan.

10. The 15 minutes of seemingly benign American Idol fame for William Hung had a surprisingly negative effect on Asian-American students. There's a feeling that Hung perpetuated the worst stereotypes about Asian people and gave non-Asians permission to indulge in two years of racial stereotyping and mocking.

Posted by anastasia