Sophia Chou, a 29-year-old Chinese millennial girl, is an outlier among her friends. Mr. Chou (pseudonym) seems to be in the minority among young Chinese people who are willing to get married.
Most of Zhou's friends in Shanghai are interested in pursuing that. solo life Chou said they are more focused on building a career and pursuing their own hobbies and interests, rather than a traditional romantic partnership.
“Many girls in China's first-tier cities want men with a lot of life and work experience,” she says. She added that it seems like “people in their late 20s and even 30s are still figuring out their lives.”
While this trend has been observed in recent years, lying down and full time kidsbuzzwords such as living alone and “temporary partnership”“Boston child culture”, which refers to new, non-traditional friendships, is on the rise.
Jacob Cook, co-founder and CEO of WPIC Marketing & Technologies, a marketing solutions platform based in China and Canada, says, “Balancing personal leisure with work and what would be considered traditional family obligations.'' More and more young people are adopting the lifestyle.” “This segment is spending on items that complement new lifestyle trends and values, such as increased pet ownership and participation in leisure sports, and increased awareness about sustainability, self-care, and healthy living. are increasing.”
In this country, marriage and birth rates continue to decline. In recent decades, young Chinese women and men have increasingly chosen a solo lifestyle, an option once unheard of in collectivist China. According to researchers, in 2020, the number of unmarried people between the ages of 20 and 49 reached 134 million..
Reflecting a growing movement around the world, especially in East Asian countries like South Korea and japanMore and more young Chinese people live alone, remain unmarried, and choose a solo life.
Amid the risk of population collapsea rapidly expanding elderly population, and other challenges, China's younger generation is facing its own existential dilemma and will face several challenges in the future.
“Some young people in China choose living alone as a preferred lifestyle option, as it celebrates autonomy and mobility. some people,” says Tristan McInnis, managing partner of the Shanghai office of strategy and insights firm Inner Chapter.
Is being single a choice, or is it forced upon you? MacInnis question. “And if it's a choice, is it rooted in a positive orientation, like wanting to pursue goals that are important to you?” he says. “For those who are forced to do so, for reasons such as lack of social mobility or social norms regarding the criteria for choosing a partner, it influences negative feelings about their future prospects.”
MacInnis said the issue also highlights the growing tension between individuals and groups in developing countries. Chinese society has traditionally relied on families to care for the elderly, in contrast to a welfare economy in which the state takes greater responsibility.
“The government is trying to create a “carrot'' of policy support for families with children, but in the future, it will use a “stick'' approach to discourage families without children, such as “single'' There is a good chance that you will choose something. Taxes too.”
So far, the country has encouraged marriage and even childbearing as the “new era” dawns.Marriage and childbirth pilot project across 20 cities in China. Additionally, along with cash incentives and other “rewards,”“Provinces like Sichuan are gradually working to provide benefits, and in the case of marriage, marriage itself may no longer be a prerequisite for having children.” To single mothers.
However, these moves may not be enough to sway the country's younger generation.
Eventually, MacInnis says, China's “solo lifestyle” will grow into the world's largest “senior singles economy.” By 2035, China has 400 million people aged 60 and over, accounting for 30% of the total population. “It will have a significant impact on the social fabric and the services that businesses need to provide to their surroundings.”
“Currently, we are becoming more self-sufficient, especially among women,” said Zhou, citing the importance of China. girlfriend economy — The economic impact of female consumers is being felt more than ever. “You don't need a man to provide for you. You can do anything, alone or with a girlfriend. You don't have to marry someone you don't like just for resources or wealth.”
Although feminism is not yet widely accepted and is subject to censorship across social media platforms,Chinese women express empowerment through other means.
In addition to the increasing earning power of Chinese women, changing gender norms, the influence of pop culture, campaigns from big brands, increased contact with the world through travel, and an emphasis on self-expression and individualism are all contributing to the These are some of the factors contributing to the selection. For a solo lifestyle.
Yaling Jiang, founder of research and strategy consulting firm ApertureChina and trend newsletter, explains that more women are choosing to remain single. Following the RMB.
“Most Chinese men have no reason to avoid marriage. Society's values will always support them,” says Jiang. “In a patriarchal society like China, women were traditionally expected to bear and raise children, do housework, and tolerate gender inequality.”
Jean explains that women these days, especially those living in first-tier cities, are realizing that this doesn't have to be the case. “Unless they find a man they really like and who share the same values, marriage won't benefit them.”
Inner Chapter's McInnis said the thorny issue of child care and other expenses is a big deterrent. “Rising costs of living, particularly childcare, education and health care costs, are influencing people's decisions to delay or not have children.”
numbers The Chinese think tank Yuhe Population Research Institute announced in March that the national average cost to raise a child by age 18 in China is $74,000 (538,000 RMB), the lowest in China. It is 6.3 times the GDP per capita, the second highest in the world after South Korea.South Korea is currently facing a population crisis.
Ultimately, according to experts like Jiang, the rise of China's solo lifestyle movement is a natural progression that evolves with the country's economic development, as has been observed in other parts of the world as well. It is said that it is part of
The latest trends show that young people in China are increasingly open to exploring new lifestyles and consumption methods.
Cook, of WPIC Marketing & Technologies, said that more young consumers are putting off getting married and raising children, which means they have more time to pursue hobbies and hang out with friends, and to focus on those areas of their lives. This means that there is more money available for use.
“Younger Chinese consumers are choosing trendy niche brands that express their individuality over megabrands,” he says. “When it comes to luxury and conspicuous consumption, we see this reflected in the rise of quiet luxury, with more subtle and refined expressions of luxury becoming more popular than flashy, mega-brand luxury goods. Masu.”
As we have previously reported, these consumption areas reflect the growing needs of Chinese female consumers in particular.
“Women are now more educated and freer,” says Zhou. “They want to focus on themselves.”
