Black South Africans Support Traditional Values

According to the recently published Black Emerging Market Perceptions (BEMP) study, conducted by Mictert Marketing Research in South Africa, traditional values, beliefs and customs are still hugely important in most respondents' lives.

The multibus quantitative study is produced annually, in a bid to provide marketers with a glimpse into the beliefs, values and attitudes of South African 'buppies' towards economic, social and political issues.

Each year, BEMP asks buppies how they feel about today's social and cultural values, contrasting traditional values and customs with the need to move with the times and modernise.

Ninety-six per cent of all buppies and 100% in the 18-24 bracket felt that family values are important, and two thirds of buppies agreed that social values have changed for the worse - rising to 70% of those aged over 25. Eighty percent felt people have become a lot more selfish, caring more for themselves than for the community. Younger people especially felt this to be true (85% of those aged 18-24).

Almost 95% of buppies say they respect people who have stayed with their traditional beliefs and customs, and almost 92% felt it is important to respect their traditional customs.

While the vast majority of buppies agreed that social values and traditional customs were important, there was an acknowledgement that culture should nonetheless be transformed and brought up to date. Over two thirds of buppies saw a need for cultural transformation, and 58% agreed that society has to accept that customs have changed and that communities need to move with the times.

Perhaps linked to this, 53% of buppies felt it was necessary for their children to learn to speak their mother tongue, but fully 38% were opposed to the need for mother tongues. English is the main language of communication in South Africa. The higher the education level however, the less likely buppies were to support the loss of mother tongues - 48% of those with matriculation felt only English is necessary, compared to only 36% of university degree holders.

BEMP 2005 featured the biggest sample since the survey was first conducted in 1999. The sample consisted of 400 buppies from Gauteng, representative of this elite niche market in the province. Respondents were employed in white collar occupations, in positions such as general manager, sales manager, regional manager, technical manager, and senior analyst. Eighty-five percent were aged between 25- and 35-years-old. All earned upwards of R7 000 per month, and 87% had some form of tertiary qualification.

The company can be found online at www.mictert.co.za

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.