By Larissa Gao u Zhenzhen Liu - NBC News
Six months ago, Jia Zhang was still running his own small business in east China's Zhejiang Province. But the COVID-19 pandemic hit him hard and he now considers that his meager profits no longer compensate for his effort.
"After careful consideration, I abandon it," said Zhang, who is a mother of two and says she was struggling to balance her work with caring for her parents and children.
Now she has a new job: she works for her parents full time as their daughter. In return, he is paid 8,000 yuan ($1,115) a month, which is close to the average salary in China.
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"My job is to spend time with my parents, for example, take them shopping at the supermarket, and do some household chores," Zhang says. "Also, if my parents want to go out, I planned it in advance and I take them to various stores," he adds.
In recent months, the hashtags #FullTimeDaughter and #FullTimeSon have trended on Chinese social media, attracting millions of views. They refer to adult children who, due to unemployment, are hired by their parents to perform household chores and be available to them when needed.
Zhang, with his parents. Courtesy Jia Zhang
Youth unemployment has become a serious challenge for China, the world's second-largest economy, particularly after three years of "zero-COVID" restrictions, which weighed on economic growth. The unemployment rate among 16- to 24-year-olds hit a record 21.3 percent in June, the Office for National Statistics said Monday.
Similar figures have been reported in countries such as Italy and Sweden, and in Spain and Greece they are even higher. In the United States, the youth unemployment rate in June was 7.5%, according to the Federal Reserve.
Many full-time children, including Zhang, have shared their experiences online. More than 4,000 have gathered on Douban, a website to form communities similar to Facebook groups.
"I like to cook and prepare lunch and dinner Monday through Friday for my family," wrote a 37-year-old full-time daughter in her group. "My parents give me money without interfering in my life. I'm extremely happy every day," he added.
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Some full-time children become full-time children inadvertently while looking for work or studying. Cici Gong, 24, jokingly calls herself a "full-time daughter" because she has lived at her parents' home for three years without paying rent in the northeastern city of Dalian. He has failed to pass annual exams to enter China's highly competitive graduate school, which was applied to by a record 4.7 million people this year.
"I went through a terrible mental breakdown when I failed on my first attempt, as well as a romantic relationship at the same time," said Gong, whose parents cover her expenses but do not pay her a salary. "The time I spent at home helped me cushion the fall," he added.
Is it a profession?
As more people come out as full-time children, a debate has arisen over whether it's really a profession.
"Compared to previous years, young people who are now unemployed and stayed home to study for exams are less confident that they will succeed in their exam preparation and job search," said Lu Xi, a professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. by email.
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"Psychologically, the term 'full-time children' gives room for denial and self-loathing, which makes it more acceptable to many," he added.
Lu said some Chinese state media organizations are trying to "rationalize" and "glorify" the emergence of full-time children as "filial piety."
Regardless of the "embellishments," he said, "the underlying essence remains unemployment and nothing else."
An involuntary decision
Neither Zhang nor Gong would consider being a full-time daughter as their first choice. Their lives have been greatly affected by China's highly competitive society and an economy that is recovering from the pandemic more slowly than expected.
"If my business had been very successful, I probably wouldn't have become a full-time daughter," Zhang said. "It's an involuntary decision, but it's an option," he added.
Both said they had received hostile comments from acquaintances and online commentators, who accused them of "gnawing the old," a Chinese slang term for young people who rely solely on their parents to make a living.
Gong said her relatives would even criticize her in person for "being lazy and stealing" her parents' money.
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Since Zhang became a full-time daughter, she said everyone in her family "is much happier than before." NBC News
"It may not sound 'decent' to strangers at first, especially those who like to label others negatively," he said, "but I think we should allow those moments to exist. Experiencing ups and downs, that's life."
Victor Gong, Cici Gong's father, said he also didn't support the idea much at first. But he changed his mind after speaking to his daughter and his wife, Cici's mother.
"I mean, there's news about how hard it is for college graduates to pass exams and get jobs everywhere," he said. "Full-time daughter or 'gnawing the old,' whatever you call it, can't be a permanent thing. We know it's just a phase for her, [but] we wanted to give her some support when she needs it."
"Cici is our only child and we are happy to have her around, even if it is for a while," he added.
Lasting changes
Mao Xuxin, a senior economist at Britain's National Institute of Economic and Social Research, said it was a "worrying" sign for young people to choose to become full-time children, as "it is very difficult for them to get out of that and back into society."
Mao said that in recent years, young people in China have begun to look for less demanding and shorter jobs. Then, the movement has emerged to "swim from the dead", to do the minimum to survive instead of working without rest. Now, some have taken the next step by asking their parents for help.
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Lu, the professor at the National University of Singapore, said China's wave of unemployment "may have only just begun."
"In the absence of additional job creation, the phenomenon of 'full-time children' will be exacerbated, creating a vicious circle," he said. "Average household disposable income will decline, resulting in a decline in overall social consumption, which in turn will limit social capacity to create new jobs, creating more unemployment and thus more full-time children."
A blessingSome full-time children consider it a short-term option rather than a career, including Gong, who recently received an offer to become a full-time English teacher.
Zhang said she could remain a full-time daughter for a while, because both she and her parents are happy with the situation, though she added that she is open to new opportunities.
He rejected the idea that he is abusing his parents, stating that he actually works for them and contributes to the family.
"Since I became a full-time daughter, everyone, including my parents, is much happier than before," she said. "I didn't have enough time to be with my parents before, but now I do." "I cherish every moment with them. It's a blessing for all of us," he concluded.