China · Nanchang No.2 High School

Sample Size: 79 (Supu Campus 38, Honggutan Campus 41)

Background: Nanchang No.2 High School is a provincial-level key high school located in the capital of Jiangxi Province, a mid-ranking province in Southern China. We conducted a somewhat biased survey with an unusually high number of 16-17-year-olds, but we believe the sample is reasonably random and representative. In the following data presentations, where inference is used, we assume a random sample of size n≥30 from the population of 10th and 11th graders at Nanchang No.2 High School.

Findings: Overall, we found a large majority of those surveyed (55%) felt optimistic or somewhat optimistic about their future. The result was similar across both campuses, with over half of respondents expressing positive sentiments. We noted an increase in the number of individuals who felt optimistic in our "exit poll" following the main survey, but also a slight increase in the number of people who felt pessimistic as opposed to neutral. Yet,  the aggregate measure of positivity increased by 18%.

Discussion

One area where people feel less positive is their future job prospects. The PPWV for this is only 1.3%,  down from the overall figure of 49.4%. It is also lower than our aggregate figure for data from the four countries, 31.2%. It is well-known in China that finding a job these days is not easy, especially for degree holders. Youth unemployment is substantial, even after the government adjusted the accounting method to exclude students looking for work. It stood at over 20 % in May 2024 according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).Even graduates of prestigious Chinese universities often have a hard time finding a job fitting their pedigree. As such, it is expected that many in this generation might feel wary about entering such a job market. And according to the China Young Internet Users’ Social Mentality Survey Report conducted by Fudan University and other institutions, the most common cause of anxiety for Gen-Z is work/study accounting for 77.1% of their respondents, which again demonstrates how much emphasis today’s teens put on finding a good stable job. Previously spurned jobs in the public sector is becoming increasingly popular with those favoring it growing from 1.84% to 2.06% in 2022 according to the same report as pressures increase for other employees especially from the tech sector.

Another surprising area where people feel slightly more negative than their overall sentiment is their view of other generations. Nearly a quarter (23%) of respondents said they had trouble understanding other generations, leading to a PPWV of only 32.9%, down 16% from the overall figure. A slim majority (51%) replied that they understand or somewhat understand other generations, leaving the rest neutral on the matter.

Why would some people feel ambivalent or even antagonistic toward other generations? It is a question as old as time. Authors from the 1960s and 70s wrote about a generation that defied their parents and wanted to upturn the social order. Today, we grow up in an age that seems to offer fewer rewards but more obligations and restrictions. We can often feel frustrated with those who accuse us of laziness or slacking off when they themselves grew up in a much different environment. Today's teens face unprecedented academic pressures compared to their elders, but what we often lose sight of are the struggles and challenges that the older generation endured that we never had to bear.

International Comparison

Interestingly enough, the respondents' overall feeling was less optimistic than the international figure prior to filling out the survey (PPWV 49.4% vs. 55.4%; Proportion of optimistic 55% vs. 57%). However, after our campus survey, our respondents became more optimistic, whereas in the international aggregate sample, the figure was lower in the exit poll (PPWV 58.2% vs. 45.2%; Proportion 57% vs. 57%). Our PPWV is able to capture this but not the proportion because more people changed their answers from neutral to positive or from somewhat positive to very positive, leaving the aggregate proportion unchanged. However, there is no statistically significant difference between the Chinese sample and the overall sample either before or after, at a significance level of α = 0.05. The p-values are 0.61 and 0.89, respectively, using a two-sample Z-test for the difference in proportion, and therefore, we can draw no definitive conclusions about that.

Conclusion

Chinese Gen-Zers are generally optimistic about their future but there is a sizable proportion that have doubts about their future job prospects because of the current job market. Also perhaps due to the recent seismic social changes that have taken place in China over the last 15 years, some young people find it difficult to understand older generations. Our findings are largely in line with major surveys conducted by established institutions about Chinese youth.

References

National Bureau of Statistics website

《中国青年网民社会心态调查报告（2022）》(China Young Internet Users’ Social Mentality Survey Report (2022))