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Labeling and group impressions is an instinct of people. Like the research of many scholars of the French School of Sociological Annals, collective consciousness has become a key element in the composition of society and groups.
This concept may feel a little obscure at first glance, but it is very clear in daily life that in Chinese society, people are accustomed to dividing their group characteristics according to the age of birth of a certain generation, which is a typical collective labeling behavior.
Collective "labels"
The prominence of intergenerational characteristics can actually reflect the changes in the whole society to a large extent. We tend to call the "post-70s" who were born in the 1970s the most difficult, the most able to endure hardships, and at the same time the main force in building society.
Because this generation was born in the period when new China was in the ascendant and waiting for rejuvenation, their adulthood was indeed the most significant period of economic development and social change, but this does not mean that they are the only ones who have contributed to society, but only because this is one of their major characteristics.
Similarly, the "post-90s" and "post-00s" who grew up in the twenty-first century, all sectors of society unanimously believe that their labels are the post-90s who have collapsed and the post-00s who have withered.
Of course, this does not mean that they are "worthless" – many of the people who shine their value in all walks of life today are these two generations.
In addition to these typical characteristics, in fact, people born in different eras will also face different problems in their own lives.
Take the current situation in society, the increasing employment pressure and living burden is the biggest source of trouble for the "post-90s" and "post-zero" people, although their lives will be relatively large material scarcity, but after all, life is still relatively stable, and some young people today may not have left the campus, they have the idea of retirement.
Although a certain generation may have certain common characteristics because of their common experiences, it is not necessary to blindly make generalizations and to divide the top and bottom.
What happened to the young people?
In May 2021, CCTV host Bai Yansong said in a column, "Is it that what we are counting on now is that the house price is very low, and then work everywhere to find, there is no pressure at all, meet the girl you like and agree with her as soon as you pursue it, won't you?" In the eyes of countless people, young people have chosen to "lie flat and enjoy, selfish and self-interested."
The implication is that the life of young people needs some pressure, the beat of the 90s, the withered after the 00 are because of living too easily, this remark came out, Bai Yansong was also pushed to the cusp of the storm in an instant, many netizens said that Bai Yansong Is "standing and talking without waist pain", "suppressing young people", "occupying the right to speak" and so on.
Admittedly, this passage will be controversial. But for the current situation of young people, Bai Yansong also said: "It is better for young people." "The better the times, the more sober and self-interested young people are, so are contemporary young people really ruined by the good times?"
So we don't have to be too focused on its remarks, everything is two-sided, for today's young people, in life has to face a lot of pressure, what should be done is to face the difficulties, learn to adjust their mentality.
For more than a decade, young people represented by the "post-90s" have always been saddled with controversy, so compared with previous generations, what is wrong with them? Let's take a look.
1. Social development and conceptual changes
As I have combed above, people of different generations will naturally experience completely different growth environments.
For the "post-90s" and "post-zero" young people, their living standards have improved tremendously, and with the development of society and the process of globalization, they can also enjoy a richer spiritual life, which can be said to enjoy a better growth environment than previous generations.
However, in such an environment, this generation is more autonomous and more inclined to pursue the value of their own lives, to do something that can reflect their own value, and we should be kind to young people.
In short, today's young people face problems from the improvement of the material level and the satisfaction of life needs to the realization of self-worth and the pursuit of the spiritual world.
We can only say that people born in different eras are facing challenges, but their historical missions and ways of dealing with them are different.
The rapid "inward-involved" academic and employment situation and the "996" work system, which was once criticized, are all problems that young people need to face today.
So in order to alleviate these problems, they chose to alleviate the pressure in life to a certain extent by satisfying their spiritual needs and seeking a more thorough realization of self-worth.
It is like the social psychologist Abraham H. Maslow's definition of the different needs of an individual's life development.
These young people achieve a shift in needs and satisfactions – the pressure on physical needs shifts to respect and self-actualization.
2. Social evaluation is bound by traditional concepts
In fact, being called "post-90s" and "post-zero" itself is already an evaluation from the outside world, no matter what people's concepts are, this "bundled" view will make young people feel pressure - once there is a "negative teaching material", then the criticism will be an entire generation.
Secondly, the phrases that appear in society such as "the Beat Generation" and "The Withered Zero Generation" are even more affectionate titles, which reflect the concept of the whole society.
Just as people have the habit of labeling, negative evaluations from the outside world naturally increase the pressure on young people. Especially the fathers of this generation, who came from the era of difficult material living standards, naturally have their own ideas.
At the same time, the traditional Confucian culture of order and courtesy will also drive them to sometimes try to impose their own values on the "post-90s" and "post-zero", so intergenerational conflicts will quietly emerge.
For young people with a relatively large proportion of only children, social and communication itself is also difficult, and the misunderstanding of different concepts, poor evaluation from the outside world and pressure from social interaction will make them tired and exhausted.
No matter what era you are born in and what kind of life you have experienced, I hope that you will not use this as a standard to evaluate others, and do not look for any "superiority" from this.
Group characteristics exist, but the situation of individuals is different. As a young person, find your own suitable lifestyle and job type, as long as you face life with your heart, the return will always be good.
- The End - Author | Tommy's first psychological main writer group | References for a group of young people who like to look up at the stars: Vogel, D. L., & Wester, S. R. (2003). To seek help or not to seek help: The risks of self-disclosure. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50(3), 351.