"Ant tribe" in Tianjin. [file photo]

A majority of more than 3,000 people who participated in an online poll feel China's "ant tribe" should try their luck in second- or third-tier cities instead of struggling for opportunities in highly competitive metropolises.

The term "ant tribe", coined by Lian Si, a scholar who wrote a book about the post-80s generation in China, refers to millions of fresh graduates who crowd together in slums across the country's big cities in search of opportunities.

Of those who participated in the survey, which was conducted by the social research center of China Youth Daily earlier this month, 61 percent said the ant tribe should bid farewell to big cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

About 48 percent of the respondents were born in the 1980s, and 29 percent in the 1970s. A third of respondents claimed to be a part of the ant tribe.

According to the survey, respondents showed mixed feelings in a multiple-choice question on their attitude toward the ant tribe.