China’s College Graduates Embracing ‘Full-time Children’ Roles
Young folks in China are getting a new kind of job. Doctor, lawyer, teacher… or just a child?
That last job sounds different, right? But some young people in China are choosing it as their next big step. Lots of people are talking about this “full-time children” thing.
It’s got 40 million views on a Chinese app called Xiaohongshu. More and more college grads are getting into it, says the Los Angeles Times.
Why’s that? Well, there are a lot of young people, but not enough jobs for them.
Many Chinese kids work hard in school for years. But when they finish college, they can’t find jobs:
In cities, about 21.3% of young people between 16 and 24 couldn’t find a job and that number kept growing. Also, about 59.6% of young folks went to college in 2022.
So, instead of taking jobs they don’t like or that don’t pay well, some are choosing to be “full-time children” again, just like before they went to college.
Being a “professional child” means more than just living with your parents. Some get money from their families (or at least don’t have to pay for things) because they help at home, clean, or do tasks.
This is very different from the hard work culture in China where some people work from 9 in the morning to 9 at night, six days a week.
There are other trends too: Some young Chinese people say “Tangping,” which means “lying flat.” It’s about taking a break and not always trying to achieve things.
Another word, “bailan” or “let it rot,” means giving up when things look bad. Some even have parties when they leave their tiring jobs because they’re tired or unhappy.
China is still trying to get back to normal after the virus. People spend less, owe more money, and the place to buy homes isn’t doing great.
What’s scarier? A recent article from China says that if we count young people just “lying flat” at home, then about 46.5% of them might not have jobs.
