Post-80s
Encyclopedia
The Post-80s is a colloquial term which refers to the generation whose members were born between 1980 to 1989 in Mainland China
after the introduction of the One-child policy
.
's Generation Y
after the use of the term in the book China’s Generation Y by Michael Stanat in 2005.
It is a generation
of approximately 240 million people born between 1980 and 1990, although characteristics of the after-eighty generation have also been seen in those born in the 1990s. Growing up in modern China, this generation has been characterized by its optimism for the future, newfound excitement for consumerism
, entrepreneurship
, and acceptance of its historic role in transforming modern China into an economic
superpower
.
These people are also distinguished by their increased access to digital media such as computer
s, MP3
players and mobile phone
s. Post-80s in China often experience a palpable generation gap
between them and their elders; while their parents lived during the Mao Zedong
era, experienced famine and political instability and lack proper education
because of the policies set forth under the Cultural Revolution
, they live in an environment of tremendous economic growth
and social change
, high technology
, and rigorous education standards.
A clash between tradition and modern influences is noticeable in purchasing habits, career
pursuits, and daily interaction between child and elders. Furthermore, young adults have been indirectly affected by forced government shutdowns of thousands of Internet bars
each year that prevent the excessive use of the Internet
. Young people are also affected by China's large socioeconomic divide between urban and rural residents and societal problems resulting from modernization
.
They were the overwhelming majority of participants in protests against the West and in asserting their Chinese identity during the 1999 Embassy Bombing Incident, 2001 Hainan Incident and 2005 Anti-Japanese protests.
, modernization, and technology
.
While being nortured by parents and relatives gives children some clear advantages and opportunities, the fact that a child doesn't have sibling who 'compete' with him or her in a younger age could also lead to some psychological difficultes as the child grows. 'Lacking adapting capabilites' (meiyou shiying nengli) is a description which is commonly associated with the new post-80's generation. Since such children don't need to put any efforts in order to gain parents' attention or to win family resources, they develop no competitive abilities and have weak social skills once they are older and need to be self-sufficient.
Having grown up in times of modern consumerism and popular media rather than the ideals of the cultural revolution many single-children are inclined to spend large amounts of money on themselves and thus a cornerstone of retail sales. Families which are well-off economically sometimes allow their Children to indulge in the new materialistc sphere, while poorer families often still put efforts to keep their children inside the consumers' race, allowing them to purchase new clothes, new cell-phone brands, etc.
between 2009 and 2010, particularly during the course of the opposition to the Guangzhou-Hong Kong Express Rail Link
, during which a group of young activists came to the forefront of the Hong Kong political scene. They are said to be "post-materialist
" in outlook, and they are particularly vocal in issues such as urban development, culture and heritage, and political reform. Their campaigns include the fight for the preservation of Lee Tung Street
, the Star Ferry Pier and the Queen's Pier, Choi Yuen Tsuen Village, real political reform (on June 23), and a citizen-oriented Kowloon West Art district. Their discourse mainly develops around themes such as anti-colonialism, sustainable development
, and democracy.
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
after the introduction of the One-child policy
One-child policy
The one-child policy refers to the one-child limitation applying to a minority of families in the population control policy of the People's Republic of China . The Chinese government refers to it under the official translation of family planning policy...
.
Etymology
In English, this group is also sometimes called ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
's Generation Y
Generation Y
Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation , Generation Next, Net Generation, or Echo Boomers, describes the demographic cohort following Generation X. There are no precise dates for when the Millennial generation starts and ends, and commentators have used birth dates ranging somewhere...
after the use of the term in the book China’s Generation Y by Michael Stanat in 2005.
- The term Post-80s is only used in Mainland ChinaMainland ChinaMainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
and other Chinese speaking communitiesSinosphereIn areal linguistics, Sinosphere refers to a grouping of countries and regions that are currently inhabited with a majority of Chinese population or were historically under Chinese cultural influence...
. - People born in other periods are also named in the same way in Mainland ChinaMainland ChinaMainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
.
- The Post-90s (九零后) means people born between the years 1990 to 1999 in urban areas. They are usually concerted to brain-disabled charactersBrain-disabled charactersThe name brain-disabled characters represents the Internet slang used by some after-ninety netizens . For this, the after-ninety generation has a disparaging name as brain-disabled people. These kind of characters can be usually seen in user names or signatures of some after-ninety netizens in...
and non-mainstream culture. The early part of this generation, at least, is often classed as a part of China's Generation Y along with 80s-born. - The Pre-60s (六零前) means people born before the year 1960.
It is a generation
Generation
Generation , also known as procreation in biological sciences, is the act of producing offspring....
of approximately 240 million people born between 1980 and 1990, although characteristics of the after-eighty generation have also been seen in those born in the 1990s. Growing up in modern China, this generation has been characterized by its optimism for the future, newfound excitement for consumerism
Consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
, entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as "one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods". This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response...
, and acceptance of its historic role in transforming modern China into an economic
World economy
The world economy, or global economy, generally refers to the economy, which is based on economies of all of the world's countries, national economies. Also global economy can be seen as the economy of global society and national economies – as economies of local societies, making the global one....
superpower
Superpower
A superpower is a state with a dominant position in the international system which has the ability to influence events and its own interests and project power on a worldwide scale to protect those interests...
.
These people are also distinguished by their increased access to digital media such as computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s, MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
players and mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s. Post-80s in China often experience a palpable generation gap
Generation gap
The generational gap is and was a term popularized in Western countries during the 1960s referring to differences between people of a younger generation and their elders, especially between children and parents....
between them and their elders; while their parents lived during the Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
era, experienced famine and political instability and lack proper education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
because of the policies set forth under the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, they live in an environment of tremendous economic growth
Economic growth
In economics, economic growth is defined as the increasing capacity of the economy to satisfy the wants of goods and services of the members of society. Economic growth is enabled by increases in productivity, which lowers the inputs for a given amount of output. Lowered costs increase demand...
and social change
Social change
Social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. It may refer to the notion of social progress or sociocultural evolution, the philosophical idea that society moves forward by dialectical or evolutionary means. It may refer to a paradigmatic change in the socio-economic...
, high technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, and rigorous education standards.
A clash between tradition and modern influences is noticeable in purchasing habits, career
Career
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
pursuits, and daily interaction between child and elders. Furthermore, young adults have been indirectly affected by forced government shutdowns of thousands of Internet bars
Internet cafe
An Internet café or cybercafé is a place which provides internet access to the public, usually for a fee. These businesses usually provide snacks and drinks, hence the café in the name...
each year that prevent the excessive use of the Internet
Internet in the People's Republic of China
The first connection of the mainland of the People's Republic of China with the Internet was established on between ICA Beijing and Karlsruhe University in Germany, under the leadership of Prof. Werner Zorn and Prof. Wang Yunfeng. Since then the Internet in China has grown to host the largest base...
. Young people are also affected by China's large socioeconomic divide between urban and rural residents and societal problems resulting from modernization
Modernization
In the social sciences, modernization or modernisation refers to a model of an evolutionary transition from a 'pre-modern' or 'traditional' to a 'modern' society. The teleology of modernization is described in social evolutionism theories, existing as a template that has been generally followed by...
.
They were the overwhelming majority of participants in protests against the West and in asserting their Chinese identity during the 1999 Embassy Bombing Incident, 2001 Hainan Incident and 2005 Anti-Japanese protests.
Future
The Post-80s illuminates important questions not only about China’s future but also those of the United States and the global economy. Several factors that may influence the generation are individualism, consumerismConsumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
, modernization, and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
.
Little emperors
Some parents over-indulge their only child. The media referred to the indulged children in one-child families as "little emperors" (xiaohuangdi 小皇帝). In many Chinese families the 4-2-1 format, 4 grandparents, 2 parents, one child, takes place, resulting with a child which receives love and attention and has no siblings to compete with. The fact that the economic future of the family depends on the success of the single single-child, often leads to a situation in which parents and grandparents eat less and spend less money on themselves, only so the youngster could feel physically and mentally strong, focus on one's studies and be successful later on in life. Although these conditions are often considered in academic and popular discourse as over-indulging such children and reversing the traditional Chinese value of filial piety (xiao 孝) it is also evident that many young Chinese feel a heavy burden and a huge responsibility towards their parents, understanding that their performances in school or other domains can be of crucial consequences towards their family. Depending on the specific family conditions and children's mental health, this burden could lead to a diligent lifestyle by youngsters or to a more rebellious attitude or not being able to cope with such pressure nor to develop self-discipline.While being nortured by parents and relatives gives children some clear advantages and opportunities, the fact that a child doesn't have sibling who 'compete' with him or her in a younger age could also lead to some psychological difficultes as the child grows. 'Lacking adapting capabilites' (meiyou shiying nengli) is a description which is commonly associated with the new post-80's generation. Since such children don't need to put any efforts in order to gain parents' attention or to win family resources, they develop no competitive abilities and have weak social skills once they are older and need to be self-sufficient.
Having grown up in times of modern consumerism and popular media rather than the ideals of the cultural revolution many single-children are inclined to spend large amounts of money on themselves and thus a cornerstone of retail sales. Families which are well-off economically sometimes allow their Children to indulge in the new materialistc sphere, while poorer families often still put efforts to keep their children inside the consumers' race, allowing them to purchase new clothes, new cell-phone brands, etc.
Dispute
Some post-70s people think that the post-80s are depraved. However, with more and more post-80s devoting in the society, we can see more worthies among them are reported by the media. Especially after the Wenchuan earthquake happened in 2008, post-80s volunteers who went to disaster area to help impressed many people and many people began to change their attitudes about the post-80s.Post-80s in Hong Kong
Post-80s in Hong Kong and the after-eighty generation in mainland China are for the most part different. The term Post-80s (八十後) came into use in Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
between 2009 and 2010, particularly during the course of the opposition to the Guangzhou-Hong Kong Express Rail Link
Opposition to the Guangzhou-Hong Kong Express Rail Link
Opposition to the Guangzhou-Hong Kong Express Rail Link , is a movement and period of civil discontent in Hong Kong between mid 2009 and early 2010...
, during which a group of young activists came to the forefront of the Hong Kong political scene. They are said to be "post-materialist
Post-materialism
The concept of post-materialism is a tool in developing an understanding of modern culture. It can be considered in reference of three distinct concepts of materialism...
" in outlook, and they are particularly vocal in issues such as urban development, culture and heritage, and political reform. Their campaigns include the fight for the preservation of Lee Tung Street
Lee Tung Street
Lee Tung Street , known as the Wedding Card Street by the locals, is located at Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Involved in a project executed by the Urban Renewal Authority , was torn down in December 2007...
, the Star Ferry Pier and the Queen's Pier, Choi Yuen Tsuen Village, real political reform (on June 23), and a citizen-oriented Kowloon West Art district. Their discourse mainly develops around themes such as anti-colonialism, sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
, and democracy.
See also
- Little Emperor SyndromeLittle Emperor Syndrome"Little Emperors" is a name that refers to only children in the People's Republic of China after the one-child policy was implemented. Attributed most frequently to increased spending power within the family unit and the parents' desire for their child to experience the benefits they were denied,...
- Generation YGeneration YGeneration Y, also known as the Millennial Generation , Generation Next, Net Generation, or Echo Boomers, describes the demographic cohort following Generation X. There are no precise dates for when the Millennial generation starts and ends, and commentators have used birth dates ranging somewhere...
- Strawberry generationStrawberry generationStrawberry generation is a Chinese language neologism for Taiwanese people born between 1981 and 1991 who "bruise easily" like strawberries -- meaning they can't withstand social pressure or work hard like their parents' generation; the term refers to people who are insubordinate, spoiled, ...
- One Child Policy
- Only childOnly childAn only child is a person with no siblings, either biological or adopted. In a family with multiple offspring, first-borns, may be briefly considered only children and have a similar early family environment, but the term only child is generally applied only to those individuals who never have...