Turkish teenagers’ biggest hindrance to love

Eğitim Ajansı

Hürriyet photo

A new study focusing on teenagers’ attitudes and behaviors toward the opposite sex as part of larger research into Turkey and Turkish cultural phenomena has revealed that young Turks’ love lives are hampered by an inability to meet the opposite sex.

The BBDO 2012 survey was based on interviews with two groups of Turkish teens aged between 15 and 17 years old that were drawn from both sexes and different social circles.

The study revealed that separation based on gender is inherent in Turkish society and that this early male-female separation increased the inability for relationships to form over time.

The phenomenon also revealed that female teens spent the majority of their time with older female family members while male teens spent time with male peers. This physical dissociation also caused separate language patterns to form, giving way to future communication difficulties.

Unable to communicate fully via media sites such as Facebook or the Blackberry Messenger system, the study found that eating at the shopping mall was the only activity where teens could mingle. The study concluded that advertisers aiming to attract teens to their brand can gain a lot from creating unisex activities to help them meet one another.

As part of a new phase in the study, BBDO will turns its attention in March to Europe and the United States to explore the Turkish image abroad, as well as Turkish brands overseas.