空巢青年(kongcháo qingnián): Empty nest young people

Millions of young people are struggling in cities far away from their homes. They live far from their families, and many of them are without partners, so they live alone. Many are without friends as well. As a result, they have nobody to share their feelings with. These are so-called empty nest young people.

Some of these empty nesters have good jobs and own properties in cities where they work. However, that hardly changes their loneliness－at the end of the day they still return to an empty home.

Some analysts say this empty nest phenomena is a pseudo-problem because it is just young people struggling for a better life. That argument is rather weak because these young people come to the cities only because their family backgrounds offer them no advantage in the career competition in their hometowns and they have to look for better opportunities elsewhere. Yet looking for a better job in the cities comes at the cost of being isolated.

The problem should arouse social concern. How to welcome these strangers in cities remains a question that needs a solution.