Post-90s youth: Don't label me selfish

0 CommentsPrint E-mail Shanghai Daily, September 6, 2010
Adjust font size:

In each era, people are eager to identify and label the youngest up-and-coming generation and lament how they might be different from their predecessors. All over the world, this is very common, but in my view people shouldn't rush to generalize.

On August 23, the Harvard College Association for US-China Relations Summit for Young Leaders in China ended. Thirty students from Harvard and more than 300 top Chinese high school students, including me, finished our challenging and rewarding summer camp in Shanghai.

There's one detail worth noting - most of the students were born in the 1990s. And from my experience and observation, I take objection to the negative stereotype of the "post-1990s generation" as largely self-centered.

When we visited the Romania Pavilion in the Expo Park, we all applauded the performance and shouted "thank you" in unison at the end. The curator praised us as the most enthusiastic and understanding audience.

When someone fell behind in outdoor activities, others would automatically wait for him or her without complaint. When someone was presented awards in the closing ceremony, other students loudly shouted his or her name and applauded passionately.

"Self-centered" behavior, the tag always applied to the "post-1990s generation," was rare in the summer camp participants.

The younger generation is also a hot topic in the USA. The name is "Generation Y" or "Net Generation," following "Generation X." As in China, that generation is generally characterized by an increased use of and familiarity with media and digital technologies. These young people are called "self-centered," "naive," "spoiled," "rebellious," etc.

However, the American "Generation Y" itself does not think that way. Most of the seminar teachers, or Harvard students, think there is little difference between the American "Generation Y" and the Chinese "post-1990s generation."

Both are intelligent, innovative, greatly interested in many things, and "amazing." But perhaps the Chinese "post-1990s generation" are somewhat shy and quiet at first.

In addition, I have to admit that there are some problems among us Chinese "post-1990s generation." For example, a boy crisis does exist. The students in the summer camp were selected from more than 4,000 applicants and the ratio of boys to girls was 1:2. Girls now have an overwhelming advantage and boys thus collapse into a crisis.

Furthermore, the vision of some outstanding high school students seemed somewhat narrow since their choices in the seminar curriculum tended to be rather practical and utilitarian. "Business development" was the most popular curriculum while "American cinema" was one of the least popular. Here does lie a difference between the American "Generation Y" and the Chinese "post-1990s generation."

During the summit, participants were encouraged to independently analyze, discuss and challenge ideas. In addition to seminars, the Distinguished Speaker Series exposed students to knowledge and experiences outside the classroom by providing access to the insights of leaders in business, politics, academia and the arts. Finally, Action for Tomorrow Venture offered us the opportunity to act as innovators and leaders.

Take one day's curriculum as an example. At 7:30am breakfast, 8:30am seminar, 10:30am speaker, 12pm lunch, 1pm discussion about the World Expo, 2pm seminar, 3:30pm extracurricular activities, 5:30pm dinner, 7pm writing workshop, 8pm house games, 10pm meeting with teachers before bed.

It was obvious that 10:30pm was about the earliest anyone could get to bed. Even so, students were enthusiastic to do homework late until midnight or 2am.

"Hazy eyes, constant yawning and dizzy head could not contain my excitement about tomorrow's activities," one participant wrote in a notebook.

1   2   Next  


Print E-mail Bookmark and Share

Go to Forum >>0 Comments

No comments.

Add your comments...

  • User Name Required
  • Your Comment
  • Racist, abusive and off-topic comments may be removed by the moderator.
Send your storiesGet more from China.org.cnMobileRSSNewsletter
主站蜘蛛池模板: 日韩色日韩视频亚洲网站 | 你懂的中文字幕| 狠狠色狠狠色综合伊人| 国产人成精品香港三级古代| 亚洲伊人久久网| 国产美女久久精品香蕉69| juy031白木优子中文字幕| 李老汉别揉我奶了嗯啊h| 亚洲欧美日韩成人网| 猫咪www免费人成网站| 制服丝袜自拍偷拍| 隔壁老王国产在线精品| 国产成人综合美国十次| caoporn地址| 国产精品无码一区二区在线| 99re热在线观看| 天天做人人爱夜夜爽2020毛片 | 四虎精品1515hh| 草莓视频污污在线观看| 国产在线一区视频| 国产精品网址你懂的| 国产福利拍拍拍| 思思99re热| 国产精品水嫩水嫩| 91亚洲导航深夜福利| 国内女人喷潮完整视频| 丰满人妻一区二区三区视频53| 日韩成全视频观看免费观看高清| 亚洲av专区无码观看精品天堂 | 一级毛片www| 成人免费视频观看无遮挡| 中文字幕福利片| 无套进入30p| 久久99国产精品视频| 日本一区二区视频| 久久久亚洲精品无码| 日本妈妈xxxxx| 久久久久国产精品| 日本漫画全彩口工漫画绅士| 久久国产精品99精品国产| 日本天堂影院在线播放|