A Dangerously Unsatisfied Generation?

So the previous post brought forward an idea which has significant long-term impact: the increasing mismatch between expectation and opportunity amongst the current 15-30 yr old generation of Chinese only-child elites.

While previous posts have discussed the potential ramifications of a generation of unmarried uneducated young men at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder who cannot find mates, this post will explore the opposite end of the spectrum- overeducated elites with high economic expectations who cannot find an opportunity to earn the lifestyle they desire or utilize the education they have achieved.

With each only child having as many as six family members (parents, grandparents) focused on their achievement as not only a source of pride but the family's primary source of economic well-being in the long term, especially given limited state-provided social security, Chinese only-children are subject to an enormous amount of pressure to achieve. The ramifications on health and well-being are tremendous. Suicide has become the leading cause of death for those aged 20-35, and many have become addicted to the virtual escape of video games, which the Chinese government has deemed a national epidemic in light of the severe consequences of a near-total withdrawal from reality that many succumb to (Taylor 2008). 2000 qualified therapists for 1.3 billion people in a nation with a long and deeply embedded resistance to and suspicion of mental health treatment beyond drugs and electro-shock ensures that these mental health problems are likely to persist and grow in the long-term. Universities have invested heavily in psychology programs, but it will take years and significant cultural change in order to catch up.

Luxury goods and high-class lifestyles have rapidly expanded into China, and media outlets glorify these as the pinnacle of achievement. With little long-term cultural experience with the pressures of material success, parents and grandparents are unprepared for how to raise children to resist defining their success on material achievement. Indeed, in many cases, parents who have known scarcity their entire lives contribute to the equation of success with material wealth in the psyche of their children. Although this stems from a genuine desire to save them the suffering they themselves endured, the combination of little practical understanding of the marketplace and a near desperate desire not to be left behind by the economic boom ensure parents often reinforce unrealistic expectations for achievement in their children. The result is a generation of only children who has "become modern too quickly, glutted as is is with televisions, access to computers, cash to buy name brands, and the same expectations of middle-class success as Western kids." (Taylor, 2008)

The fact that this generation is comprised almost entirely of only children is significant beyond their role as exclusive providers. Parents of only children have traditionally exceptionalized their children to a greater degree than multiple children. Parental experience with a single child often causes parents to loose perspective on the actual abilities of their child compared to peers. The only child is seen as exceptional for lack of children with whom he can be compared. The lack of cousins in second-generation only child families only exacerbates this phenomenon. The fact that this child is a family's 'only hope' means that there is a stronger incentive to see only the positive potential in a child. Admitting that one's only child is sub-average, or anything less than exceptional, is deeply troubling to parents, especially given the negative long-term implications for parents and grandparents own financial and social security. Options such as relying on siblings, nieces and nephews, or other current/future children are no longer available.


The pressure to achieve is tremendous for China's youth. Parents, many of whom were themselves robbed of the opportunities now available by the Cultural Revolution, often live vicariously through their children. A personal narrative that would be a tragic tale of lost hope had it ended with their experience is transformed into an inspirational story of self-sacrifice when it includes the eventual achievement of future generations. The dramatic uncertainty characteristic of the average lives of Chinese throughout the centuries makes this multi-generational narrative a deeply embedded psychological coping mechanism and way of explaining the meaning behind lives that would otherwise often seem brief and tragic. Chinese parents today, in understanding their own suffering and sacrifices as part of a larger story leading to the eventual success and triumph of their children and grandchildren are meetly perpetuating a cultural view of the order of society. The cycle of hardship-success-hardship-success that many westerners come to understand as core to an individual life is multi-generational in Chinese thinking.

This desire for achievement first manifests itself in expectations for educational achievement. 90% of parents surveyed indicated the desired children become university graduates, and 45% indicated a desire for advanced degrees. (Taylor 2008)Even if these sorts of education goals were attainable on such a massive scale, opportunities for these skilled professionals do not exist in equivalent numbers. This means that many will be left out in the cold, unable to find work 'worthy' of their education in an economy that is still developing. Even the government champions high-achieving elite, but the country cannot yet universally provide the lifestyle that these elites have been acculturated to expect. Taylor writes, "faced with bleak prospects, elite only-children often don't know how to cope; they've been brought up to do only one thing: succeed," (taylor, 2008). When success as it has been narrowly defined is not available, many find themselves isolated and without the coping skills more well-rounded individuals would have.


The sacrifices that many parents make for their children's success only add to the pressure. Many parents spend significant percentages of their income on education for children, and often migrate far away for years in order to support their child's education and health needs. On the positive side, Chinese children have a tremendous sense of being loved and cared for as a result of this attention. However, there is also a tremendous pressure to repay these parental sacrifices, honor parental wishes, and care for the family in the long-term. Children too begin to understand themselves as part of a multi-generational cycle, and feel pressure to succeed not only to achieve their own material desires, but also to fulfill the wishes of their ancestors and family. Its an awfully big burden for a 13 yr old.

Much attention has been paid to the differences in only-children themselves. Many conceive of Chinese only-children as spoiled and bratty- however, most research indicates that they are no more so than their multi-children counterparts in both China and the west (Taylor 2008). The common perception of these children as having a higher desire for instant gratification, material well-being, etc is not so much attributable to their being only children, but rather to their being raised in a wealth-crazy society. Although being an only-child increases the pressure on these children to achieve, it does not, it would seem, increase their own sense of entitlement any more than the same levels of wealth, education, and glorification of material success would for a child with siblings.

The implication here is then that the lack of siblings does not directly cause the distress, depression, and other ill effects on the health of China's elite children. Rather these effects are products of parental and societal pressure, which is indirectly exacerbated when there is only one child to carry the family through the future.

The result of all of this is a generation of highly educated elites with limited job prospects and high expectations for material wealth. This is exactly the sort of demographic that could challenge the establishment if consistently frustrated enough. Once material wealth seems out of reach, individuals tend to search for meaning elsewhere, and a turn on the establishment which failed them. If this generation in China were to continue growing, those that do not succumb to mental illness would be prime candidates for fomenting political dissent. So long as success seems possible, parents and children will continue to buy into the system. However, if the pressure to succeed and lack of opportunities reaches a point where hopelessness becomes widespread, China may face a dangerous generation of well-educated angry individuals in their late teens and early twenties who feel they have nothing to loose. Fearful for the economic future of their families and themselves, they may push to slow or roll back economic reforms if things are seen as having left too many behind, or even promote democratic reforms if convinced that they are not being heard. Either of these would be extremely destabilizing to the central government.

China has made baby steps towards addressing issues, but so long as material wealth dominates as the primary measure of success, those prevented from achieving it will hunger for an alternative to put in its place. The search for alternative values, or for scapegoats to explain why certain levels of government-promoted success are not available to all, may prove a dangerous proposition for China in the long term.