Old But Restless: A Study Of Imbalanced Intergenerational Relationship Among Rural "Old Drifters" In The Background Of Urbanisation

The living situation of the “old drifters”,which has been created by the times,has aroused a lot of discussion in the academic community.This article focuses on the current intergenerational relations of the ’old drifters’ in the city,breaking the limits of the urban-rural integration perspective and exploring the changing intergenerational relations at a deeper level.In the context of family migration,in order to achieve family urbanisation,peasants who migrate to the city for work usually face the problem of extremely scarce family resources,and with limited financial means,each of the family members has to exert every possible effort to add to the integration into the city.In X County,the "old drifters" are those who come to the city to take care of their grandchildren and take care of their families.In the survey,it was found that basically all of the elderly migrants are in a state of “old but restless”,as some of them take on all the chores for their small families;some are responsible for transporting grandchildren after their chores;and some are still doing the hardest and most tiring work at an early age in order to support their families and be self-sufficient,earning the most meagre wages to the small family.In the context of urbanisation,what motivates the elderly who have moved to the city and should be enjoying their family life and the convenience of the city,but instead choose to carry the burden of their families and stay in their old age?This study is based on the background of urbanization.Fifteen“old drifters” were selected for the study.Applying intergenerational solidarity-conflict theory,which aims to analyse the phenomenon of the “old drifters” who have recently moved to the city but do not rest in their old age from the perspective of intergenerational relations.The ethical constraints and self-binding based on the feedback theory of intergenerational relations,the value of blood relatives,exchange and mutual assistance,and the internalisation of responsibilities,have caused the “old drifters”to be in a state of “old but not resting” after moving to the city.This is a state of affairs.Social work with the elderly is an important area of social work,and the plight of the “old drifters”is becoming an important issue of social governance.The purpose of this paper is to provide some traceable ideas for the development of the elderly social work.