Lying down generation
China’s Generation Z shouts ‘ lie down’ amid increasing pressure but never really drops their responsibilities
“Eating only two meals a day will cost less than 200 yuan ($ 31.4) per month. Then, I only have to work one or two month( s) a year to make a living,” a post, allegedly written by a generation Z nicknamed Xiaoxin, has gone viral on Chinese social media this week, causing a heated discussion about today’s youth and their response to stress in life.
In this post, Xiaoxin imagined a life of low expenses that he may have if he works for only two months a year. He even listed a very cheap daily recipe consisting of rice, eggs and vegetables, and “chicken meat on the weekends if
‘ Lying down’ under stress
I’m in a good mood,” he wrote.
The idea of low material desire, low consumption and refusing to work, marry and have children, dubbed as a “lying down” lifestyle, recently struck a chord with many young Chinese national like Xiaoxin, who are eager to take pause to breathe in this fast- paced and highly- competitive society.
Many millennials and gen Zs complained to the Global Times that burdens, including work stress, family disputes and financial strains, have pushed them “against the wall.” They said they hate the much hyped “involution,” which roughly means that “people are competing for limited resources,” joking that they would rather give up
Qiu spends 3,000 to 4,000 yuan a month, mostly on charity events such as rescuing stray cats and dogs. She seldom buys electronic products or clothes as she used to, and never cares about how much money the small shop she runs can bring.
“I barely make ends meet,” Qiu said. “But I don’t care, at least for now.”
Instead of always following the “virtues” of struggle, endure and sacrifice to bear the stresses, the younger generations, most coming from single- child families with better living conditions, prefer a temporary “lying down” as catharsis and adjustment, Chinese sociologists and educators told the Global Times.
“Many netizens’ support for ‘ lying down’ has been a great relief for me as it shows that I am not alone. Many people share the same idea of slowing down some of what they h ting trapped in an en against peers.
Single mother Qi 31, said she chose to after she had tasted t entrepreneurial failu crisis.
“Now I’m divorce start a business,” Qi Times, saying she do or much savings in h
“But I feel much than during the prev when I only slept for busy working, raisin reling [ with my then said. to escape the stress of work,” Zhao Ziyin, a 25- year- old marketing planning employee in a renowned real estate company in Fuzhou, capital of East China’s Fujian Province, told the Global Times.
In March, Zhao joined the “Lying Down Group” on the Chinese social media platform Douban. This is a group of young people who want to “lie down” in the face of immense pressure of study and work. Here they talk and comfort each other by sharing their spiritual food, like reality shows, that portrays a slow and quiet life.
For Zhao, screaming “lie down” together with her online friends is a way to spiritually defy and overcome work difficulties. She chose to “lie down” after she got tired of the companies’ depressing “996” work culture, working from 9 am to 9 pm six days a week.
Under the encouragement of the netizens, now the days of “lying down” are perfect for Zhao. She follows a school routine, taking a 10- minute break for every 45 minutes of work to surf on Weibo or play mobile games. She leaves work on time as much as possible on days when she doesn’t get urgent
tasks.
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On Monday, China officially further relaxed its family planning policy, allowing couples to give birth to three children. This is bittersweet to some parents who want to have one more kid but are daunted by the huge cost of money and energy to raise a child.
It is understandable that some young people, under the growing pressures from child- rearing to paying the mortgage, try to live in a simple way and leave these worries behind, Chinese scholars said, calling the public for more understanding of this “lying down” group.
“They are not bright and shiny elites or public celebrities, but ordinary young people who have been taught too many abstract responsibilities and promised too many bright futures in the process of growing up,” Zhang
told the Global Times.
Facing the reality
Interestingly, the majority of millennials and gen Zs who claim to be big fans of the “lying down philosophy,” still do not spare their praise and admiration for the hard working role models.
Recently, Wei Dongyi, an assistant professor of mathematics at Peking University holding a bottle of water and two steamed buns for an interview, has been gaining a lot of popularity among young people on the Internet for his brilliant academic achievements, and his simple, hardworking lifestyle.
In the eyes of many, Wei is a special type of elite. In Beijing, his monthly living expenses do not exceed 300 yuan, he hardly watches TV nor does he surf the Internet, spending most of his time studying mathematics.
With his hard work, he was the full mark winner of the 49th and 50th International Mathematical Olympiad. It only took him eight years to complete all the courses for his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees, and successfully stayed in the school as a Mathematics teacher.
“We can accept a temporary ‘ lying down’ as a short rest, but it’s no use running away. Especially to see that many peers who are better than us are still working hard, I have to ‘ stand up’ and face the reality sooner or later,” said Zhao.
While attending the “Lying Down Group,” Zhao also joined the “Standing up after lying down mutual help group” on Douban.
Founded on May 13, this organization has already enrolled over 5,000 members in less than a month, where people talk about their daily experiences of braving stress and share their efforts to return to normal study or work, discussing success stories and encouraging and comforting members who have temporarily failed.
“In an era of ubiquitous involution, it’s tempting to lie down but once we have chosen to do so, we are no longer dare to face anything that requires efforts and may have uncertain benefits,” wrote Jenny Jing, founder of the “Standing up after lying down mutual help group.”
With the tremendous improvement of living conditions, some
Chinese youth have partially lost the spirit of hardship and are not willing to bear too much hard work. But in fact, lying down is not entirely comfortable, while indulging in the temporary ease of burdens, young people who lay down always feel guilty about their constant loss of morale far beyond their reach, Shi Gang, Director of the Psychology Education Center of the China Agricultural University, told the Global Times.
“The philosophy of lying down can hardly bring more positive energy to society but fortunately, in China most students are still positive,” Shi said, noting that according to his observation, fewer than 10 percent of the 310 first- year undergraduates who attend his center have been less motivated in their study.
Zhang noted that in times of “global involution,” young people all over the world are faced with more severe challenges but China keeps making continuous efforts to create a more comfortable environment for the development of young people, providing more channels and platforms to create more opportunities and rewards for their efforts.
“At the same time, we need to emphasize that the spirit of struggle is never out of fashion in any age or society. Our society needs to make young people believe and actually feel that being persistent is a realistic and feasible path to transcend themselves and solve many practical problems, care and inspire young people and help them to continue to grow stronger on their way to responsibility,” he added.