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0China is teetering on the edge of population decline, according to many analysts.
China’s birth rate fell by just under 30% between 2019 and 2021, the largest two-year fall since 1961. Only 10.6 million babies were born in China in 2021, which was at historical lows since 1949. Decades of strict birth controls, along with women entering higher education and the salaried workforce, have transformed attitudes towards raising children. In a Communist Youth League survey of 2,905 unmarried youths last year, 44% of urban women aged 18 to 26 said they had no plans to get married, with 25% of men answering the same.
In this section, our newsroom members gather together to talk about ideas of Generation Z towards marriage and children-raising.
Speakers: 叶维嘉 Amy 虾虾 康康 西西 Chloe
3:47 Speakers self-introductions
Our speakers include 5 girls and 1 boy.
4:50 What do you think is the ideal intimate relationship?
In an ideal relationship, support, encouragement, comfort, equal and free communication, compatible ideas, and tolerance are mentioned by speakers.
11:38 Thoughts towards marriage
Based on the observation on parents’ marriage, Xia Xia and Chloe think that to manage a relationship by tolerating is tiring and unacceptable. Kang Kang also stresses that the reluctant tolerance and compromise in an intimate relationship can be a harmful consume, and it is not acceptable either since there are many other options. Therefore, they will not easily start a relationship, let alone a marriage.
25:28 Do you want to have children?
Xia Xia, Kang Kang and Xi Xi do not want to have children while Chloe is very much willing to have a baby.
About why they do not want a baby, speakers discuss a lot.
The basic economic consideration is that it is burdensome in today’s society to gain adequate money as the cost for raising children is getting higher. The society has imposed so many expectations on a mother that herself has been overlooked. After sharing some family examples, speakers think it will also be difficult to well raise your children in a system that you are still struggling with.
About the willingness of having children, Chloe shares her family experiences. She has a very fortunate and equal relationship with her mom, in which both of them feel respected, happy, and thankful. Therefore, she wants to continue this relationship in the future and to be thankful and hopeful just for the existence of her children.
46:26: Choosing not to have children is a compromise to yourself?
Ye thought the fear of passing on your negative feelings or shortcomings to the next generation possibly means that you are giving up the possibility of being a good parent.
For Kang Kang, that is a choice, not giving up, for those two are equal.
51:42: Does the next generation create an incentive for parents?
Family environment and the experiences of friends and relatives are the biggest influences on people.
Xia Xia's parents told her that getting married and having children would have positive motivational changes for her. She does not deny the possibility, but the cases she has seen in her life are not.
What Chloe sees is more pessimistic. She thought that if those parents treat their children as an incentive, they may put all their expectations on their children, which could be a burden for both sides. People should not attempt to use children to improve their psychological construction, and they should first improve themselves.
56:10: Stereotypes and traditional social expectations are out of date?
From the perspective of Xia Xia, the abundance of information makes people think more, and they are all more willing to make decisions jumping out of conventional wisdom, even if it is difficult to do so. She disagrees with this kind of acculturation and thinks the old concept is unsuitable for modern people.
Kang Kang thought that was more like institutionalization. Under that situation, people can't get out of the framework of customs and conventions.
Amy added that Gen Z is experiencing a more realistic society, thinking about the meaning and value of things before making decisions, rather than just catering to social expectations. It was enough for her not to impose expectations on the next generation, but only to be there and quietly support them.
【本期制作】
录制：On Air News编辑部
文稿：叶维嘉、马新鑫
审核：武佳颖
剪辑：王康妮
制图：李夏煊、旦增卓玛
BGM: 나의 용서는 너를 잊는다 (Only Piano)—Seori
