ABSTRACT
Like all youth, Asian American youth seek alternative social outlets where they can hang out with others like them. For low-income Asian American teenagers who reside in southern California’s urbanized suburbs, finding social outlets that are both accessible and affordable presents a challenge. They want a diversion from the boredom, stresses, and problems of everyday life but have limited economic resources to entertain themselves. Cyber cafés provide an affordable space for them to fill some of these needs and offer a venue for Asian American youth to channel their energies. The cafés also provide a space where young Asian American men can form bonds of friendship and reclaim their masculinity in a society in which they sometimes feel demasculinized and marginalized. The video games allow them to become someone who has skills and status, and give them an opportunity to demonstrate their gaming prowess. At the same time, the cyber community offers them an opportunity to participate in a network that encourages teamwork and alliances to defeat “an enemy” in their virtual lives. Cyber café players have created a growing youth subculture with their own language, rituals, and protocol on how to be an “engaged citizen” of this community.
