New analysis suggests the “lying flat” life-style actively decreases long-term happiness

A research in China discovered that younger individuals who adopted the “Lying Flat” life-style—a passive perspective characterised by giving up efforts and objectives to be able to relieve aggressive stress—are inclined to report decrease satisfaction with their lives. Interestingly, this passive perspective predicted decrease life satisfaction later, however life satisfaction didn’t predict future adoption of this life-style, indicating that it’s the “lying flat” perspective that results in diminished life satisfaction. The paper was printed in Behavioral Sciences.

The “Lying Flat” phenomenon, recognized in Chinese as tang ping, is a social development that emerged in China as a quiet type of resistance to intense work and social pressures. It refers back to the choice of some younger folks to withdraw from aggressive profession striving and materials ambition. Instead of pursuing promotions, property possession, or marriage in any respect prices, people adopting this stance goal to fulfill solely minimal residing wants. It describes a private rejection of societal pressures to overwork and over-achieve. Literally, tang ping refers to an individual mendacity flat on their again, with the entire physique relaxed, making no motion, and responding to nothing.

The motion arose partly in response to lengthy working hours, excessive housing costs, financial inequality, and restricted upward mobility. It is intently related to criticism of the so-called “996” work tradition (working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days every week). People supporting tang ping describe emotions of burnout, disillusionment, and a scarcity of significant reward for excessive effort. Unlike overt protest actions, mendacity flat is basically a passive and particular person adaptation quite than a collective and arranged one.

Chinese authorities and state media have criticized it as defeatist and socially irresponsible. Some on-line discussions in regards to the phenomenon had been censored, reflecting political sensitivity round youth disengagement. More broadly, the idea has change into an emblem of generational fatigue in high-pressure economies. It is conceptually much like the phenomenon of “quiet quitting” or the rise of NEETs (Not in Employment, Education, or Training) that turned well-liked in Western societies at roughly an identical time.

Lead creator Huanhua Lu and colleagues wished to look at the connection between the adoption of the “lying flat” (tang ping) life-style and life satisfaction. Their speculation was that the adoption of this life-style can be related to decrease life satisfaction, and that this life-style would actively diminish satisfaction with life over time. They performed two research.

Participants within the first research had been 960 undergraduates from Beijing. Their common age was roughly 20 years, and roughly 55% of them had been males. Of the overall, 470 had been recruited from a nationwide “double first-class” key college (an establishment with higher monetary and educational sources), whereas 490 had been from an peculiar faculty. Study individuals accomplished assessments of their endorsement of the “lying flat” life-style (utilizing the Lying Flat Tendency Scale) and their life satisfaction (utilizing the life satisfaction dimension of the Index of Well-being).

The second research concerned a ultimate pattern of 109 individuals from a college who accomplished a longitudinal follow-up research (initially 120 had been recruited, however 11 dropped out). Their common age was 19 years, and 44 of them had been ladies. They accomplished the identical two assessments twice, one month aside.

Results of the primary research confirmed that the endorsement of the “lying flat” life-style was related to considerably decrease life satisfaction, even after controlling for gender, age, college attended, and subjective socioeconomic standing. Women tended to endorse the “lying flat” life-style greater than males. Furthermore, this life-style tended to be endorsed extra by college students from the peculiar faculty than by these from the “double first-class” college.

Results of the second research confirmed that endorsement of the “lying flat” life-style on the first time level negatively predicted life satisfaction one month later. However, life satisfaction at first of the research didn’t predict the endorsement of the “lying flat” life-style one month later. This signifies that it’s doubtless the “lying flat” life-style that results in diminished life satisfaction and never vice versa.

“The present study first revealed a temporal directionality between the ‘lying flat’ and life satisfaction. This suggests that ‘lying flat’, which serves as a temporary relief mechanism in the face of overwhelming pressure, may come at the cost of long-term psychological functioning,” the research authors concluded.

The research sheds gentle on the broader psychological implications of adopting the “lying flat” life-style. However, it must be famous that the research was performed on younger folks from Beijing universities. Studies on different demographic teams, different areas, and folks from totally different cultures won’t produce similar outcomes.

The paper, “Does “Lying Flat” Lead to Greater Life Satisfaction? Evidence from Empirical Research,” was authored by Huanhua Lu, Jinli Wang, and Feng Kong.