‘I don’t’: why China’s millennials are saying no to marriage
- A generation of Chinese is in no rush to tie the knot
- These young people are creating a ‘single society’ with implications for individuals and for the country as a whole
Lizzy Ran is happy with her life. The 29-year-old unmarried doctor from central Hubei province earns a decent income and spends her free time with friends or surfing the internet at home.
But her mother is worried for her.
“My mother is quite anxious for me – she believes getting married and having babies are things that a person must do in their life,” Ran said. “I don’t think so – marriage isn’t essential for me.”
Ran said she believed marriage was determined by fate and she was not about to force the issue.
“If I am lucky and I find my Mr Right, that is good. But if I’m not lucky enough to meet such a guy, it’s fine, and I will accept that,” she said. “I will definitely not force myself to find a man and marry him.”
Ran’s thinking is typical among Chinese born after 1990. She is part of a generation who are in no rush to tie the knot in large part as a result of huge social and economic changes that have overturned tradition for China’s millennials. Researchers say the effects of this emerging “single society” have implications not only for the individual but the country as a whole.