Studies Of The Migrant Worker’s Inter-generation Relations In The Context Of Communication

This research is an empirical study on the migrant workers in Haidong city. Based on fieldwork, the author intends to explore the changes of the migrant worker’s inter-generation relations and the role of media in changes. Then this paper tries to analyze the inter-generation in the context of the communication.The research indicates that the migrant work’s inter-generation relations is from close and stable to indifference and alienation when they come to city, in which media plays an indispensably role. To be more specific, parents teach knowledge of life to their children that make the relation between patents and children closer and parents owned the right of educate. Family member’s cooperation in daily life let the inter-generation relations more stable. The character of inter-generation in the rural area is orderly, the children respect for their parents and obedient to their parents. The inter-generation relation becomes fracture when farmer come to city. Because of the migrant workers far away from their parents and children, the communicate activity of family members is limited. And family member’s life style becomes difference, which makes parents lose the right of educate. Thirdly, the pressure of live makes migrant worker very busy, they don’t have time communicate with other family member. But the appearance of media changes this situation. The migrant worker’s can contact with their parents and children regardless of distance. They can perform their duties as children and parents through media. However, the role of media is enlarging this fracture. Because the way of media using is different in the migrant worker’s family, which makes the generation gap become larger. At the same time, media makes people’s contact with each other without face to face, which makes people’s emotion weaken. The migrant workers know that they lose the right of educate, but the culture of education still influence them, in the opinion of migrant workers, children should be obedient to parents, but children think that the opinion of parents is old, so children in conflict with their parents. After struggle with children, parents accept the fact that children don’t obedient to parents any more. They reduce the interaction with their children. Under these reason, the migrant worker’s inter-generation is from close and stable to indifference and alienation when they come to city. Then the migrant workers change their concepts of "provide for the aged" which is children will provide them when they are old under the influence of mass media. They realized that they need relay on themselves when they are old.The change of migrant worker’s inter-generation relations means that the efforts and rewards between parents and children are from balance which is full of affection to new balance which is lack of affection. Compared with rural, parents pay more affection and money for children in city, but children who under the huge life pressure can’t pay Equivalent return for their parents. Then parents reduce the input for their children and more concerned themselves life. The efforts and rewards between parents and children are balanced, but the affection between parents and children is lacked. The migrant worker’s family should strengthen the cohesion of affection. Parents and children should increase communication activity which is face to face, eventually building harmonious migrant workers inter-generation relations.