Modern people, especially teenagers, are facing unprecedented challenges in this fast paced society. In China, more and more juveniles are becoming so concerned about their future career path that an increasing percentage of these young people gradually suffer mental diseases such as anxiety and depression.
As one of the biggest countries in the world, China has a population of over 1.4 billion and this number seems to be increasing year by year according to official databases. Large numbers of young children are educated ever since they were born to catch up with or outcompete their peers, rendering many of them, mostly starting from the age of 6 or even younger, having to bear far more academic responsibilities to fulfil their so-called dreams than the majority of other counterparts in this world. Initially, things may not seem so serious to them as they were still young and not too much engaged in the society. Yet, as the intervention of social media and other technological inventions becomes available, young students are clearer than ever about their current and future conditions as they step into their teenage life. Unfortunately, many of the young teenagers arrive at the conclusion that they should stay simple and normal without the need to work hard to strive towards unrealistic goals since they realize that talents are almost everywhere and they are not so needed as expected in this society while their parents still push them on the way to become outstanding members of the society. As a consequence, many young people feel stressed and nervous on a regular basis, causing themselves to be finally harassed by anxiety, which has become one of the most common phenomenons in modern societies of China in the present day.
What is worse is that with the advent of the one of the most serious pandemics, namely the coronavirus disease which broke out in the late 2019, young teenagers are facing yet another serious challenge that they cannot avoid by their own will. The truth is with the viruses spreading and evolving over time, they have posed a threat to young students’ physical fitness significantly by increasing the possibility of getting them sick much more easily than before, which potentially weakens the immune system as a whole to this new generation. Many adults have become mildly handicapped due to this pandemic, not to mention that teenagers have to strive hard to balance between keeping fit and studying hard. This unexpected situation has led many ambitious young teenagers to gradually lose their hope to become great as they have planned before since they simply do not have the power to bear too much responsibility and be so energetic to engage in complicated work or tasks as freely as ever. In China, the rising percentage of young people getting depressed has become so prevalent that the government is still on its way to figure out how to deal with the social challenge.
Ziluo Cheng
