By Tom Clifford in Beijing
Rat people. A terrible term but it denotes young people who have given up on chasing the economic dream. They are cutting themselves off and staying in their rooms. They are disillusioned with the treadmill of long hours and poor salaries.
Lying flat is also another term that describes the same condition. It became so prominent on social media, especially after the COVID pandemic, that it sparked alarm in Beijing as the central government tried to boost its stalling economy.
But the rat people are not just lying flat or giving up. They are doing things they like. Smelling the roses. Not rushing. A huge attraction in a society as regimented as China’s. Many are just burnt out. Not rebelling, just relaxing.
Besides, they are the first generation in China who can afford to stay jobless and still survive. Within living memory this country has gone through warlords, invasion, civil war, revolution. Since the death of Mao in 1976 it has seen its economy surge. But this is the first time that the economy is not performing better than the year before. They are the first generation who will not be better off than their parents.
“These are children, often the only child, of parents born in the ’60s and ’70s. These parents benefited from China’s economic growth, so they have some savings,” one person who opted for this lifestyle said.
“This is the first economic slowdown we have know but it won’t be the last.’’
There’s a shrinking population and younger people are now under pressure to work much longer hours and they burnout. There is a sense of apathy. A feeling of what’s the point? Life can seem, to these people, too formulaic. School, college, work, marriage, children, repeat….
BP is the term for before the pandemic. People do not want to return to what they consider a regimented way of living.
China has dropped its one-child policy, but today’s children have had no experience of brothers or sisters. They have been the focus of attention. This is a pattern of behaviour that occurs primarily in the cities.
This is a country that does not tolerate what it sees as negative social attitudes.
“Social withdrawal” is something that has to be tackled, the authorities say.
But there is some hope. Most young people recover as they get older. Opting out may have certain advantages but opting in can also be attractive. Age will make a difference.
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