Spark Deep Dive: University students in China are too stressed and busy to date

Owen Cao is a first-year graduate student at a university in northern China. He juggles a mountain of responsibilities: research, coursework, study sessions, and tasks assigned by his supervisor.

The 22-year-old ocean engineering student finds little to no time for dating.

He said he was fine with being single “right now” and was not actively looking for a relationship. “But if I meet the right person, I’d be open to giving it a try,” he said.

Cao and his three like-minded dorm-mates reflect a growing reluctance among young Chinese to pursue dating due to busy schedules. There is also a rising level of comfort with being single.

The trend could worsen the country’s already low marriage and birth rates. It has rung alarm bells among academics and policy advisers.

An article was recently published in China Population News, a newspaper affiliated with the National Health Commission. It called on universities to “play a leading role in marriage and relationship education”. It also suggested offering students optional courses about the subject.

The article sparked a heated online debate about whether the government planned to interfere in young people’s dating choices in the face of the country’s worsening demographic crisis.

China’s university students carry heavier burdens nowadays. They face increasingly intense competition as economic growth slows. There are also fewer job prospects.

The value of an undergraduate degree has been reduced. More young people are pursuing master’s or even doctoral degrees to improve their employment prospects or delay their entry into the job market.

According to Cao, today’s students are under increasing pressure – from universities, counsellors, parents, and even classmates – to focus on securing a recommendation for postgraduate study. This stress starts on their first day as an undergraduate.

A 2021 survey of 14,000 university students by the China Youth Daily newspaper found that nearly 70 per cent were single. Experts and students suggest that figure may be higher now. They say China’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic reduced opportunities for interpersonal relationships.

A recent survey by the School of Public Administration at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law found that 56.9 per cent of students had no interest in dating at the moment.

“People say you should manage your time well, but honestly, no matter how well you plan, you can’t cover everything,” Cao said. “Energy is limited, so I have to cut out things that drain me the most. The first thing to go? Dating.”

Staff writers

1. According to the news, why does Owen Cao “find little to no time” for dating?

2. List TWO reasons why university students face more academic stress compared to previous generations.

3. To what extent do you agree with the idea of university courses on relationships? Explain using the news and your own knowledge.

1. What is the artist trying to depict in the graphic? What is the meaning of the piles of papers and books?

2. Using the news, list TWO factors that contribute to the situation shown in the graphic.

National Health Commission: China’s official health agency responsible for a variety of measures, including drafting laws for public health, reforming the country’s medical system, implementing plans for disease prevention and control and organising policies to address China’s ageing population.

demographic crisis: when more people are dying than being born. This could lead to a country’s overall population shrinking and may pose a problem if there are many more elderly people than younger ones, as there might not be enough people to take care of them. It also means fewer people in the workforce.

News

1. Chinese university students like Cao have busy schedules and face intense academic and extracurricular pressure, leaving them with little free time.

2. They face intense competition as economic growth slows. There are also fewer job prospects, and an undergraduate degree does not mean as much as it used to, so students are pressured to pursue master’s or even doctoral degrees to improve their employment prospects. (accept all reasonable answers)

3. I am weary of a university course on relationships. It is unclear what topics the subject would cover, and an extra course may increase students’ workloads or take away more of their free time – meaning it may make the problem of students not dating even worse.

Graphic

1. The artist is depicting two university students. They face a mountain of work and pressure, as shown through the piles of papers and books labelled “student leadership” and “job offers”. The broken hearts represent students’ desire not to pursue relationships as they struggle to balance their already busy schedules. (accept all reasonable answers)

2. Many young Chinese adults are too busy to pursue relationships, and more people are comfortable being single than in the past. (accept all reasonable answers)