What should college life be like? – Easy, joyful and funny.
Unfortunately, facing heavy pressure from a flagging job market,
many students are apprehensive about facing an ever more uncertain
future and consequently begin to feel lost, according to a survey
released on August 15.
The research, conducted by the Social Survey Institute of China,
covers more than 2000 college students from big cities, such as
Beijing, Shanghai and so forth.
Tapping into this vast network of students, the report revealed
about 75 percent enjoy their lives on campus, free of restraints
and filled with enthusiasm. Nevertheless, there still exist 16.7
percent "lost ones" who refer to life as boring and aimless while
8.3 percent complain about the heavier study load they must now
bear.
Undoubtedly, pressure exists, and 75 percent of students feel it
from the future job market, although they do not face it now.
Around half of all participants had no clear career plan after
graduation and a high 41.7 percent admit they have not thought
about it. Only 8.3 percent have a clear blueprint lined up and are
confident of achieving their hopes and dreams.
The question "Are you a popular guy" seemed to strike a chord
with participants with 58.3 percent answering positively, leaving
41.7 percent as unsure. 91.7 percent of students thought they could
get along very well with others, the final 8.3 percent finding it
difficult to choose a particular answer.
Independent answers such as "doing things your own way" and
"forget other people's opinions" seemed to be popular among modern
college students with 75 percent conforming more or less to this
attitude. 25 percent alone admitted to worrying about comments from
other people.
The survey also discovered a strong feeling of confidence among
students when dealing with interpersonal relationships and that
personalities were slightly malleable by the surrounding
environment.
Opposing the feeling in "Suicide is Painless" – lyrics to the
song from the famous 1970 film MASH, most students
criticize the phenomenon of suicide on campus. 58.3 percent urged
authorities to discover hidden social reasons behind suicide, thus
helping to prevent it. 33.3 percent think students who commit
suicide cannot face life's bigger challenges in the future even if
they survive. Surprisingly, 8.3 percent confessed that they once
wanted to kill themselves, but ultimately decided against it.
(China.org.cn by Wang Ke, August 19, 2006)