80% of Hong Kong secondary students unsure about life path, with some opting to ‘lie flat’

Researchers at Hong Kong Shue Yan University stress importance of life direction as some students consider shunning careers to focus on basic needs

‘We need to help youths establish their life goals and direction, so they know what they need to do to achieve their targets and be motivated to improve themselves,’ academic says

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Researchers have said some youth in Hong Kong are displaying attitudes they consider to be “lying flat”. Photo: Sun Yeung

Published: 8:28pm, 8 Apr 2024Updated: 8:41pm, 8 Apr 2024

Nearly 80 per cent of Hong Kong secondary school students have expressed uncertainty about their life path, while university researchers have described a fifth of the teenagers surveyed as having a “lying flat” attitude toward their futures.

Academics at the Hong Kong Shue Yan University’s sociology department said on Monday that those without a sense of self-identity were more likely to lead disorganised and unmotivated lives, or what the researchers called lying flat.

The phrase refers to a phenomenon that has swept China in recent years as some young people reject a career-oriented lifestyle in favour of focusing on their basic needs.

The team’s study also found that among the 20.8 per cent of secondary pupils who had direction in life, three-quarters had discovered it through their parents or teachers.

The survey involved more than 1,100 students aged from 15 to 24 interviewed between November 2020 and May 2022, including 543 secondary school pupils, as part of research efforts to gauge young people’s self-identity and commitment to life goals.

According to the paper, a quarter of the 79.2 per cent of secondary pupils who expressed uncertainty about their goals said they were not actively exploring a life direction.