Zhongxin Finance, January 14 (Reporter Li Jinlei) One person lives, eats and travels alone. At present, the number of people living alone is increasing.
A reporter from China-Singapore Finance and Economics inquired about the 2021 China Statistical Yearbook and found that in
2020, there will be 494.16 million households in the country, of which more than 125 million are "one-person households", accounting for more than 25%.
From the 2021 China Statistical Yearbook.
Why is the size of one-person households so large?
What challenges and opportunities will it bring to the economy and society?
How to deal with it?
Feng Wenmeng, director and researcher of the Research Office of the Social Development Research Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council, accepted an exclusive interview with the "China New Observation" column of Chinanews.com to interpret the above issues.
Excerpts from the interview are as follows:
Chinanews.com reporter: According to the 2021 China Statistical Yearbook, there are 494.16 million households in the country, of which there are 125,490,007 "one-person households", or more than 125 million, accounting for more than 25%. What does this data mean?
Feng Wenmeng:
There are 125 million single-person households in China, which is very large, accounting for more than 25%, and it is not low in international comparison.
In terms of structure, the current one-person households in my country are mainly composed of two parts, one is an elderly single-person family, that is, a family living alone among the elderly, and the other is a young single-person family.
According to the seventh national census, there are 264 million elderly people in my country.
The relevant survey in 2015 has shown that the proportion of empty-nest elderly (elderly couples households) and the elderly living alone in the elderly population has exceeded 50%.
In recent years, the situation that the elderly live alone has further increased, and the phenomenon of individual households among young people has also further increased.
With the increase of average life expectancy, the differentiation of intergenerational values, and the rise of celibacy, the scale and proportion of single-person households in my country continue to expand. This is an inevitable trend of social development and cannot be simply used or used. Bad to determine. But for its proportion and the speed of its rise, the whole society should attach great importance to it.
Empty nest youth.
Photo by China News Service reporter Li Peiyun
Chinanews.com reporter: With so many "one-person households", the number of people living alone in society seems to be increasing day by day. What are the reasons behind it?
Feng Wenmeng:
Single-person households now account for 1/4 of all households. There are many economic and social reasons behind it. From the specific content, the reasons for the increase of single-person households among the elderly and young people are different.
In terms of single-person households for the elderly, with the continuous development of aging and the advancement of medical technology, the number and proportion of the elderly are also further increasing.
On the whole, the average life expectancy of women is higher than that of men. If one of the elderly couples dies first, an elderly person will be left behind and become a single-living household.
At the same time, due to changes in family values and differences in intergenerational values, the proportion of children living together with the elderly is getting lower and lower.
These factors have led to a further increase in the number and proportion of single-living households among the elderly.
In terms of young single-person households, many young people choose to live alone in the early stages of employment.
On the one hand, this is due to the fact that most young people belong to the cross-regional mobile employment, and objectively cannot live with their parents; The desire for independent and free space, where conditions permit, the proportion of living alone without parents is also further increasing.
In the past 40 years or so, China has experienced rapid social changes, with improved housing conditions, the prevalence of self-satisfaction, and an increase in the number of people marrying late or even not getting married.
The values and cognitions of different generations are very different, and there will be more conflicts brought about by intergenerational living. Against this background, the number of people living alone and the proportion of young people are further increasing.
Data map.
(Photos and texts have nothing to do) Photo by Li Jun, a reporter from Chinanews.com
Chinanews.com reporter: The average population of households has fallen below 3, and the increase in the scale of "one-person households" will bring what challenges to Chinese society?
Feng Wenmeng:
The problems and challenges brought about by the continuous growth of single-person households have gradually become prominent, mainly reflected in:
One is the problem of insufficient supply of family pensions.
The increase in the number of elderly people living alone requires the accelerated development of home-based and community-based elderly care.
At the same time, the elderly living alone have their own specific needs, such as the need to establish a more complete disease monitoring system to ensure that they can receive timely treatment in the event of an unexpected situation, and increase the safety and security of the living environment.
Therefore, in the construction of elderly care services, it is necessary to build a more complete socialized home-based elderly care service system, and develop elderly care services that are more convenient, affordable, and close to the elderly.
Overall, the current demand in this area is huge, but the gap is also huge.
The second is the question of whether psychological comfort can be obtained.
People who live alone need to be given spiritual care. If they live alone for a long time without a good emotional solution channel, it is easy to have some psychological problems, and in severe cases, it may cause some social problems.
In recent years, the number of autistic people in some countries has increased, which is related to the increase in the proportion of people living alone.
Although the proportion of this problem in my country is not very high at present, the potential impact cannot be ignored.
The third is the weak sense of family responsibility among young people.
In general, young people living alone are less connected to their families, and their willingness to take on family responsibilities becomes weaker over time.
Fourth, issues affecting fertility and population development.
If the number of young people living alone is allowed to increase, it will have some adverse effects on marriage, family and maintaining an appropriate fertility level.
This also requires our attention.
Data map.
(The picture has nothing to do with the text) Photo by Li Peiyun, a reporter from Chinanews.com
Chinanews.com reporter: What new opportunities will the increase in "one-person households" bring to the economy and society?
Feng Wenmeng:
With the increase in the number of single-person households, the single-person economy has shown a rapid development momentum in recent years. Some new demands have burst out, and some new products, new services, new industries and new business models have also been born.
For example,
one-person products are becoming more and more popular, and miniaturization has become a major trend.
In terms of food, clothing, housing, transportation, etc., there will be more products that meet the needs of one person. 100 grams of rice, 50 ml of whisky, one person hot pot, mini appliances, mini KTV... There will be greater market opportunities for one-person products.
In the future,
there will be more business models dedicated to serving people living alone.
For example, providing disease monitoring and security services for the elderly living alone.
A service that solves the problem of young people living alone who are unwilling to do housework and do not know how to cook.
In general, many services originally provided by families need to be transformed into those provided by the society, and the demand for ordering meals and housekeeping will further increase. The "lazy economy" where money is spent on convenience and time may become more popular.
In addition, people living alone need emotional sustenance, and industries such as pets that can provide spiritual sustenance will also usher in great development, which is a substitute for family emotions.
There are also intelligent butlers, companion robots, etc. will also become promising areas.
In short, in the
single economy, personalized, exclusive and quality consumption scenarios will be more popular.
Various individual-oriented interest clubs such as fitness and tourism are also increasing, which provide young people living alone with a platform for full communication and emotional catharsis outside the family.
Chinanews.com reporter: Against the background of declining birth rates, fewer children, and an aging population, the size of families continues to shrink. How should public policies respond?
Feng Wenmeng:
From the perspective of historical changes, the size of households in China is shrinking, and the trend of this change has become more obvious in recent years.
The data shows that
in the first national census in 1953, the average size of each household was 4.33 persons, which rose to 4.43 persons in 1964, and began to decline in 1982. The average household size was 4.41 persons, and in 2000 it dropped to 3.44 persons. It dropped to 3.10 people in 2020, and further dropped to 2.62 people per household in 2020, falling below a family of three.
The changes in the size of Chinese families in the past few decades are, on the one hand, influenced by the family planning policy, and on the other hand, are the result of changes in the economic and social environment.
The female labor force participation rate has increased, the number of years residents have received education has increased, the society as a whole is less reliant on "raising children and preventing old age", urbanization is advancing, and the cost of childbearing and parenting education has increased, all of which have led to a decrease in fertility.
However, maintaining an appropriate family size and fertility level is the foundation of a country's long-term sustainable development.
In response to the above trends, it is necessary to take measures to prevent the continued reduction of family size and to cope with the rising trend of single-person households.
How to do?
On the one hand, it is necessary to reverse the value orientation of reluctance to marry and give birth, advocate the importance of marriage, family and childbearing throughout the country, emphasize the significance of population childbearing, make more people aware of the value of childbearing and their responsibilities to family and society, and reduce Negative impressions of some people on marriage, family, and fertility.
The rise of celibacy is not long, and many people have not realized some of the problems that living alone will bring to their physical, mental and social development for a long time. Therefore, it is necessary to create a social environment and cultural atmosphere conducive to marriage and childbirth, and guide them to A more positive view of marriage, family, and childbirth, rather than an attitude that marriage and childbirth are irrelevant.
A person's life is really unrestrained when he is young, without the troubles and burdens of parenting, and can do whatever he wants, but in middle-aged and old age, some problems are indeed unbearable for a person.
At the same time, it is also necessary to provide policy and service support. Many people subjectively do not want to choose to live alone, but objectively they are in this state for various reasons.
To create a better marriage and child-rearing environment, on the one hand, more perfect marriage and love services should be provided, and on the
other hand, concrete measures should be taken to solve the problem of high cost of child-rearing education and the implementation of targeted policies to alleviate child-rearing insecurity. Reproductive and parenting pressures such as insufficient human care and insufficient care costs.
(Finish)