Yet changes in material life have wrought social changes for the Yami, in particular the young, who are slowly losing their mother tongue and are increasingly unfamiliar with tribal folklore and taboos, the modes of dress and means of ritual. They are no longer like their forefathers.
物質生活的改變，改變了蘭嶼的社會結構、人際關係及價值觀。尤其是年輕人，他們漸漸不會說母語，不知道有關雅美的傳說和禁忌，不穿傳統服飾，不懂雅美的慶典儀式… …，已經不像傳統雅美人。