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being in berlin

It is my second day in Berlin, and a lot has happened over the last few days. I found out that my German is pretty terrible, but I can understand the people which is probably a good thing. (Prague will be interesting in that I will have no idea how to read or communicate with the natives.) After wandering and talking with the locals, here is what I learned about Germans so far.

1) Not all are created equal. Although Germans and French considered themselves European, they are completely different. As far as I can tell, Germans are more laid-back and less concerned with "spectacle" than the French. The French are definitely more chic and concerned about their outer appearances than the Germans. This rings true with their perceptions of the cell phone. French youth view their cellphones as a status statement and accessory. The Germans view their cellphones much more practically as a tool of communication.

2) However, French and Germans are equal in that they both text heavily. Although more Germans seem to use cars as modes of transport relative to French, the German youth still use the U-Bahn and S-Bahn frequently. I always see them flurrying away on their mobile phones talking to friends. Another thing is that nightlife in Berlin is much cheaper than nightlife in France. German youth seem more comfortable hopping one club after another because cover is so cheap. This also creates a situation in which German youth need to stay in touch with friends because they will end up hopping from one club to another instead of staying in one club. This led to some interesting situations as I was the only one with any mobile phone out of our group while friends who live in Berlin tried to meet up with us at several places.

3) Just like in France, the choice for mobile phone design for the German youth is definitely the slider. I did see a fair amount of flip mobiles in the hands of various German teenagers.

4) Their favorite brands for mobile phones seem to be similar with other European youths. Samsung and Nokia were frequently mentioned. Sony Ericcson came up very strong. Motorola was definitely recognized a bit more than in France though. A lot of people are talking about the release of the N95. Too bad I'm going to be gone before it comes out in continental Europe. I may have to make a day trip to London in order to get my hands on it and play with it.

5) Germans spend a lot of time on the internet. There are internet cafes everywhere in Berlin. StudiVZ is a very popular site for German college students to connect. MySpace was heavily mentioned as site of choice for looking up nightlife events. MyVideo is YouTube equivalent in Germany. Wikipedia is a very popular site among Germans for information and random facts.

posted by Koh @ 11:50 AM