Not long ago, the news about the "post-90s" and "post-00s" making wills shocked the Internet, according to the "2020 China Probate Bank White Paper" recently released by the China Probate Bank: More and more young people have begun to make wills. In 2017, 55 post-90s registered and kept their wills in the China Probate Bank, and by the end of 2020, the total number of this group had reached 553.
In the traditional view, wills always seem to be linked to death, so many people are afraid to talk about this topic. But this is not the case. The essence of a will is to plan ahead for an individual's posthumous property or other affairs in a manner prescribed by law. As this concept becomes more and more accepted, it is not too surprising that some young people join the group of wills.
Why do young people make wills?
Look rationally at uncertainty in life
Some professionals pointed out that the number of young people who made a will in 2020 more than 2 times compared with 2019, the data soared, which should be related to the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in 2020. Some young people are under great pressure from their families and society, and the uncertainties in their lives exposed by the epidemic have forced them to think about making a will early.
In addition, according to Dr. Lilac's 2020 National Health Survey Report, 53% of people are worried about their sudden death, and 6% of them are often worried or even daily.
Curiously, the proportion of older people who are worried about sudden death is declining, but the proportion of post-95 and post-00s who are worried about sudden death is higher, accounting for 60% and 58% respectively.
(Source: Dr. Lilac 2020 National Health Survey)
It is related to the increase in property
According to statistics: 80% of the post-90s who currently make a will have an independent house. Among these people, the phenomenon of their parents buying a house and hanging it in the name of their children is more common, and some parents will hang part of their shares in the name of their children, so in order to "prevent themselves from accidental property loss", some young people have to make a will in advance.
In the past, when it came to retaining property, it seemed to be a patent for the elderly, but with the advancement of urbanization, especially a considerable number of young people who owned their own property very early, the protection of young people's personal property will become more important.
In addition, the current awareness of independence and risk among young people has increased, which has also increased the motivation to make a will. Statistics show that unlike testators of other age groups, the inclusion and arrangement of "virtual property" has become a prominent feature in post-90s wills. For example, social accounts and game accounts are common types of property in post-90s wills, followed by securities funds. In other words, in addition to property in the traditional sense, modern young people have paid more attention to virtual property.
The act of emotional sustenance
Try to explain this phenomenon with the "social emotion choice theory" in psychology.
"Whether a person's perception of survival time is sufficient or limited influences the assessment process for the selection of goals. Time perception is an integral part of human motivation and influences people's choice and pursuit of social goals. ”
Social-emotional choice theory tells us that when people's perception of future time changes, so does the prioritization of goals.
When we feel that the future is infinitely long, we will focus our experience on work, personal achievement, and self-worth; but when we feel that the future is not long, we will spend more time on family, happiness, and emotional dedication.
Because he felt that he might leave this world, he made a will prematurely in order to place his emotions on the people closest to him. They prefer to focus on things like family, happiness, emotions, etc.
Some people will feel that their parents raised themselves to adulthood, if they are not careful to leave their parents first, then who will support their parents when they are old? Therefore, in advance of their own property distribution, many parents may not know how much their children's assets are, if they are not careful to leave first, it is also considered to allow parents to have financial support and care at the end of their lives.
There are also some young people who do not have any property, but they also choose to make a will. They will use their belongings as a continuation of their emotions, such as favorite books, camera photos, handmade small items, etc., and give them to someone in their will. This is also a way of "accompanying each other", so that everyone will have a thought.
In addition, there are also some people who do not dare to do things, do not dare to say words, do not dare to meet people, want to do some final explanation, but also can be regarded as a release of their own feelings. The last words to be expressed will be passed on to the most important people in the form of a suicide note.
They all continue the meaning of their existence through all of the above actions, including but not limited to.
The significance of the establishment of a "death education class"
Establish a correct outlook on life and death
According to incomplete statistics, at present, more than 20 Chinese colleges and universities, including Peking University, Shandong University, Guangzhou University, etc., have opened courses related to death education, guiding students to face death and fear life with flexible and diverse teaching methods.
Students can openly discuss the topic of death in class, such as death with dignity, hospice, euthanasia, etc., and this course allows students to rethink and plan their lives at the end of their lives. Look at life with death, live toward death, and establish a correct outlook on life and death.
Some experts said that although about 20 colleges and universities in China have opened courses related to death education, compared with the overall development scale of domestic colleges and universities and the number of college students, such a degree of popularity is far from enough. The theoretical methods and practical models of death education in China need to be further enriched and improved, and in the future, they should be oriented to the whole society and cover the whole process from primary school, middle school to university.
Treat the issue of life and death with caution and never speak lightly of death
As more and more young people consider making wills, death is no longer a mysterious thing.
In China's specific traditional context, the issue of death was once a difficult topic to touch, in a sense, the taboo on death is a very traditional and authoritative cultural and psychological factor, and even now, not all people are willing to talk about death. The act of making a will by young people is more of a gesture, an attempt, an open-minded orientation that they dare to break through the traditional.
It is worth noting that some young people often express a negative mentality when talking about making a will on social platforms, which is a red flag.
Generally speaking, in modern society, there are two kinds of wills: one is to make a suicide note, which explains how to deal with matters such as how to deal with the aftermath of the death and how to distribute the property; the other is the pre-life will. This is a special pointer for individuals who are in medical difficulties due to illness, need or do not need certain medical rescue measures, etc., take advantage of their sanity and clarity to make a will, show their own choices, in case of that day, to provide a basis for doctors and family members to make decisions.
When the will-maker makes a will with a negative mentality, he is afraid that he is not thinking about how to die, but the question of life or death, which will cause extreme confusion in the value and meaning of life, and finally lead to a hasty and arbitrary attitude of life and death, and the consequences are very serious.
Cognitively, because people recognize the essential nature of life and death, they will not fear death because of mysterious ignorance, which is the purpose we want to achieve. However, in terms of attitude orientation, we are in awe of death from the bottom of our hearts, so that we can treat and deal with the problem of life and death prudently in real life, and never speak of death lightly. From this point of view, the fear of death is not a bad thing, here is to say reverence, and reverence for death is naturally reverence for life, which is the bottom line of all our ethics and morality.
Making a will is never something that can be followed, and while it should not be a heavy one, it should definitely be taken seriously.
Content sources | China Youth Daily, China News Network, China News Weekly, Zhihu Daily
Source: China Education News