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Cooperation
What is in this Section
Introduction
Wandering around Miyashita Park, you encounter many youth holding cameras and phones, asking other youth to cooperate with their video content or to promote their creative work. Eckhoff (2021) uses the example of community-based free market and claims that "the emphasis on sharing and cooperation at these events helps to build unity in local communities, as relationships are formed and strengthened between friends, neighbours, and strangers alike (Albisson & Perera, 2012) (cited in p. 12). Although the context in which cooperation happens in Miyashita Park is different from the example presented by Eckhoff (2021), this quote signals how the attitude of cooperation can unite people together, revealing that youth in Miyashita Park are also strengthening their ties through their effort to interact with others by cooperating. In short, youth in Miyashita Park interact with other youth in the form of cooperation, through which they strengthen bonds with other youth and to find a community where they can feel the sense of belonging, figuring out their identity as they become part of a specific group.
Types of Cooperation
Youth use the openness of Miyashita Park to engage in different kinds of activities. In the same way, youth engage in cooperation through various forms, depending on their interest.
↑ A guy interviewing two girls about their view on romantic relationships
Two guys with videos wandering in Miyashita Park to find youth to conduct interview to ↓
1. Content Creation
1. Content Creation
Holding a camera and walking around, there are many youth who engage in content creation in Miyashita Park. Some are making “What’s in My Bag” video while others interview people about their romance life or about their job hunting process, trying to make conversation with youth in Miyashita Park while also making content for those who are on the other side of the camera.
2. Promotion of Music
Many musicians are in Miyashita Park. Some are playing music, while others are asking other youth to follow their Instagram and to come to their concert. By appearing in Miyashita Park on a regular basis, these youth use Miyashita Park as their stage, making themselves popular within the young users of the Miyashita Park.
In fact, two girls asked the guy (who is in Miyashita Park most of the time) to take pictures with them as they knew that he is a rapper.
Mateo [matobyyoaua9]. (2023, June 9). Miyashita pāku de shitsurenchū no josei futari no maede, gominingen, ore, wo, utattemita #mateo #bazure #osusume ni noritai #yangusukinī utatte [I attempted to sing "sorry, me" in front of two girls with broken heart #mateo #goviral #wantstobeontherecommendation #attemptedtosingyoungskinny] [Video]. TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@matobyoaua9/video/7250052124669693186
Go to the link to see how these musicians engage with other youth!
This is another regular musician who appeared in Miyashita Park frequently during the fieldwork.
The guy with the hat is the musician and the other guy helps him make the TikTok video of him playing music to youth they found in Miyashita Park.
In the picture, these guys are approaching two girls sitting on the grass and talking. As soon as he approaches the girls, he talks to them a little bit with a smile and eventually goes about playing music for them.
The TikTok video on the right describes in detail how these guys engage in stranger interaction by promoting their music.
In this video, the guy with the guitar approaches two girls suddenly saying
"すいません、すいません。マティといって僕ミュージシャンやってるんですけど、よかったら一曲歌わせていただけないですかね？(Excuse me, I am Mateo and I am a musician. Could I please sing for you guys?)”
When the girls request a song by saying the title of the song they have been listening to a lot recently, the guy senses that something bad (in terms of relationship) has happened with the girl and casually broadens the conversation to their life to engage in further conversation. In this way, promoting music becomes a trigger for further stranger interaction.
A guy with the blond hair is a hairstylist asking girls to be his hair models. After the conversation, they exchanged their Instagrams, so that they can keep the communication.
3. Promotion of Goods
Youth also promote goods they made or produced in Miyashita Park. Some examples are selling jewelries and selling their skill as hairstylists by approaching youth if they can be their hair model.
Techniques Used to Induce Cooperation
Claiming that urbanites enjoy interacting with strangers, Lofland (1973) identifies three criteria people use to determine whether it is the right moment and situation to engage in stranger interaction—desirability, legitimacy, and appropriateness. Those who initiate conversation with other youth to induce cooperation and to ultimately make a casual conversation base their decision on whether they can achieve these three factors through their techniques.
Lofland (1973) defines desirability as the calculation involving “whether this person, as identified, is someone he or she really wants to talk with” (p. 169) and further claims that this can be detected through “intersection of cues relative to the other’s location, appearance, and behavior, but is then coupled with the individual’s own mood and purposes” (p. 169), signaling that desirability has to do with fulfilling the needs of both parties engaging in the conversation.
1. Desirability
Fashion
Group vs. Individual
One way desirability is calculated in Miyashita Park is through the way youth dress. For example, through the interview I conducted, it became clear that two guys were approaching girls, especially those who were targeting girls wearing street-type clothing as their jewelry matches with street-type clothes. Those who try to engage in stranger interaction target specific kinds of youth depending on their appearance as well as whether such appearance matches with who they are looking for. → Learn more about how youth use fashion to show their identity in the section Material Goods
Targeting those in groups is another tactic used by those who try to engage in stranger interaction as it reduces the risks of interacting with strangers for both parties. For those being talked to, the existence of their friend becomes an emotional escape place, as a lot of youth talk to their friends rather than toward the camera when they are being interviewed for content creation. For those who are talking to, talking to a group is perceived less risky than talking to individuals as they feel that they are more likely to respond when they are in groups (confirmed through multiple interviews as the quote above shows). In short, targeting people in groups reduces the risk of being rejected, thus making it possible to engage with strangers.
When those being talked to are in groups,
“either one tends to go, saying things like you go”
A young guy that seems to be a YouTuber is asking a group of girls around the age of university to show him the inside of their bags. He films the girl’s bag and asks questions toward some items that appear to be in his interest. They seem to be both enjoying the situation with the girls being excited to be in the video. Before he leaves, he let the girls know the name of his channel and when it is going to be uploaded, saying things like “最速だと1週間、長いと1ヶ月くらい (the fastest it would be uploaded is within a week, the longest a month)” and “楽しみに待っててください (Be excited please!)” before saying a sincere “thank you” with a little bow to leave the scene.
2. Legitimacy
Legitimacy can be calculated through “consideration of chances that the other will define the encounter as expected and all right under the circumstances” (Lofland, 1973, p. 170).
Casual Tone
Clear Purpose
Through multiple interviews toward those who initiate conversation as well as participant observations, it became clear that these content creators and promoters talk casually and in a loud voice, so as not to sound creepy. Casually here does not mean the no use of polite form, but a use of mixed polite and slang form that makes the right kind of casualness, that shows respect for the cooperation, while also being not too tight and formal that would create an emotional distance between the subjects. In the TikTok video above, the musician asks for permission to play music for the girls using polite form saying "歌わせていただけないですかね？(Could I please sing for you guys?) but the tone of the voice is not apologetic and is rather invigorating, making it sound polite and casual at the same time.
As the situation above clearly signals, the guy reveals himself by revealing the channel name as well as when the video is going to be uploaded, establishing credibility for himself. In another case, two girls claimed that they first ignored the guy who talked to them as they thought they were Nampa with whom they did not want to interact with, but as soon as the guy claimed that he is a hairstylist, they reconsidered their mind and exchanged their Instagram. As many other youth engage in Nampa in Miyashita Park, it is important for those who do not want to be in that circle of Nampa, to be able to distinguish the type of youth. Youth figure out their identity also by choosing with which type of youth they interact with.
3. Appropriateness
In order to assess whether the interaction that is about to happen is appropriate or not, “the individual must consider not only his own relationship to the locale in question but such other matters as the openness to interaction being signaled by the other (Lofland, 1973, p. 171), signaling that those who initiates conversation must also take into account of the response of others to assess as well as maintain appropriateness. Karp (2015) claims that people rely on “face information,” in other words, what is apparent like facial expression and the way people dress (p. 95), to determine whether the conversation with others will be appropriate or not. In order to gain a friendly response, youth who engage in stranger interaction talk smiling and with upbeat vibes.
Conclusion
Youth engage in different types of stranger interaction on the basis of cooperation and promotion. Youth who initiate conversation utilize multiple strategies to reduce the risk of being rejected. In doing so, they look for similar youth through clothing as well as distinguishing themselves from other kinds of youth like Nampa who also exist in Miyashita Park, strengthening their identity as part of a specific group while distancing themselves from other kinds of youth.