I am going to give you a task: Think about the stereotypical Finnish person. How would you describe his/her appereance and personality? Maybe you would say Finns are silent, kind of cold attitude towards everything or anyone new (or even towards mutuals…) and when they speak, they use as few words as possible. Their posture is a bit bad and they are hiding in the shadows trying to avoid being in the centre of attention. The stereotypical Finn would not like to make any fuss about him-/herself – whether it be about their clothing style or opinions about current happenings. But is this stereotype of a Finn really the truth nowadays or is it an old belief from the past?
Finland has risen from a poor country with uneducated majority of inhabitants to a solid welfare state with promising professionals in many academic fields and also in entertainment industry – not to mention fashion and design. Social media’s breakthrough has made it easy to be aware of global issues and to follow international trends and Finns have made themselves familiar with this phenomenom. Especially the young adults and teenagers of Finland seem to have nothing in common with the old stereotype – quite on the contrary.
The trendy Finn of today is a real social butterfly who takes interest in and has opinions of global and political issues. He/she is always wearing the latest brands or supporting Finnish designers and their quirky style and likes to visit new restaurants and coolest places to be. Their use of social media is on point and they take their education seriously. They even aren’t that scared of the limelight anymore – there are many promising Finnish talents who are trying to get to the top of their own field. So maybe it is time to break the old stereotype of a sullen, silent Finn?
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