最近的一项调查表明,60%的中国大学生感到孤单,80%的人认为自己是社会不公平制度的受害者。
A recent survey indicates that 60 percent of college students in China feel isolated, and 80 percent feel like they are victims of social injustice. Is the mental health of China's young people really on the wane? If so, how can this be rectified?
Let's follow our reporter Du Lijun to find out.
For Shi Guannan, a student of the Shanghai-based East China University of Political Sciences and Law, the high instances of isolation, autism and other psychological disorders among college students is not a surprise.
"Every year, our university has someone who takes their own life. The reasons for the suicides often sound ridiculous. I mean do you believe that someone would kill themselves just for losing two Yuan or after failing a test? But that's what happens. Young people today deal with more pressure than ever before. The tough competition for jobs, the soaring house prices, I believe our psychological conditions will only get worse in the future. "
Shi Guannan's feeling is backed by a recent survey by the China Population Communication Center. The survey, which polled 133 students in Beijing through face-to-face interviews last year, showed that nearly half of the interviewees said that they lacked a sense of security in social interactions, half were not content with their lives, two out of 10 felt trapped in a state of emptiness and 60 percent felt lonely.
If not discovered and attended to properly, those psychological disorders may lead to serious consequences. Pan Quanhui, a 23-year-old student at the University of Hong Kong, committed suicide earlier this month because he could not get rid of the pimple on his face. Pei Meng, a 19-year-old student in Nanyang Normal University of Sichuan Province, jumped to her death from a building on January 15 this year due poor performance in her final exam. And the list goes on.
According to research by the China Youth and Children Research Association, 30 million youngsters below the age of 17 are suffering mental problems. It also indicated that anxiety disorders and depression among college students have been on the rise in recent years.
Why are today's young in China suffering such psychological disorders?
Tong Xiaojun is an associate professor of the social work school of Beijing-based China Youth University for Political Sciences. She shares her observation on campus.
"My students usually come to me and say that they don't know how to communicate with people. These students usually have low self-esteem, they feel isolated and excluded."