Youth, Not Revolt

Something beautiful is taking place in the lives of 240 million young Chinese born in the 1980s to mid-'90s. And they reflect a similar, silent revolution taking place in neighboring Korea and Taiwan, a movement about caring deeply about social harmony and heightened empathy. Kirsten Høgh Thøgersen and Nandani Lynton, two European scholars in China explain in detail. Some of their most salient observations are below.


"Despite surface appearances, China's Generation Y is not becoming Western."


"Young people everywhere use the same technology and wear similar clothes. But some similarities are superficial."


"Despite their popular image as the "Me Generation," we find that Chinese Gen Yers hold up traditional family values. Gen Y feels keenly responsible both for their nuclear family and their grandparents, even for aunts and uncles. They feel responsible despite the fact that there is little personal communication; most say they cannot ask about details of family history or discuss personal subjects with their elders."


"We also asked young Chinese to choose one wish that would make their life happier. A typical answer was: "I would be instantly happy if my parents could have a beautiful house so they could feel really good." We then asked a follow-up."


' "And if you already had that, then what might your second wish be?" One answered in a flash: "I would like my parents to also have a fish pond in their garden." '


'The single most surprising result of our research is that 70% of the young Chinese consider themselves spiritual, while only half the Westerners do so. Many Chinese respondents answered: "I don't have a religion but I believe in a universal power." '


"Chinese Gen Ys want to keep their society built on collective harmony and effective relationship management. At the same time, their refusal to accept authority unquestioningly indicates a new level of critical thinking."

Photographs from Taiwan are courtesy of Miki. Photographs from Korea are courtesy of Sibuya.