The Lifestyles of Chinese Teenagers – Balancing old traditions and new options

China’s teenage generation has a brand new attitude, and a brand new clothing - Western type; nothing like their parent’s generation. Making a sharp break from their parent’s habits, Chinese teens are energetic, ambitious, innovative and individualistic. Chinese teenagers are now faced with mixed influences of traditional Chinese and modern Western cultures.

In spite of the Western beliefs, teens in China are not much different than American teens. Having developed amazing abilities to quickly adopting Western lifestyle, Chinese teens are considerably more consumerist and business minded than their parents.

Chinese society has changed over the past few decades, especially among the teenagers. Although there is still an incredible emphasis placed on being an exceptional student, there is also room for some of the social aspects of being a teenager. More and more teenagers in China own mobile phones and MP3 players. They are wearing clothing that more closely reflects their personality and not the traditional wardrobe that their parents did. They are changing the face of the typical Chinese teenager.

The typical Chinese teenager still goes to dinner with their parent and always displays the utmost respect for their parents. It is still commonplace in China to have a multi generational household, in which grandparents, children, and parents all live in the same house. There is a wide variety of teenagers in China who dye their hair, wear make up and stylish clothing. The influence from the west on China is evident at every turn, but the traditions of their parents and grandparents is still a large part of their every day lives. Chinese teenagers have seemed to achieve the proper balance between modern and traditional values and how they are incorporated into their lives on a daily basis.

Teenagers in China like to hang out with their friends and go to the mall, they are listening to the current pop songs on their MP3 players and their mobile phones, they are connected to the Internet and are staying up on the current fashions and gossip at school. But they are also doing chores at home, paying their respects to their ancestors and praying their family's religion or other family traditions.

Education is one of the most important factors of development in Chinese society as it is seen as the key to a better job. Remember, education costs and parents would want the most for their money. Since school is a luxury, teachers actually get to teach instead of solve discipline problems all day long like some teachers in Australia. A typical day in urban Chinese areas starts at 7:30, when students arrive at school to have an extra half-hour for studying. 8:00 classes start until 12:00pm when students have lunch. Classes resume at 1:30pm and finish at 5:00pm. Then, at home, students do their homework, watch educational TV, practice written or spoken English, have dinner, play a bit and go to bed by 10:30pm the latest. In rural Chinese areas, they might do some farming or horse riding as exercise or play.