A Sociological Study Of Young People’s "Lying Flat" Behavior

The term ’lying flat’ has received widespread attention from society since its inception.On the basis of existing research,this article points out the problems of unclear understanding,chaotic causes,and insufficient mechanism analysis in the analysis of "lying flat" in existing literature,and conducts analysis and argumentation on this basis.This article first summarizes several characteristics of "lying flat" youth based on experience: firstly,from the perspective of identity characteristics,most of the "lying flat" youth come from middle-class families and should enter society,assume social responsibility,and be a group of young people aged between 22 and 35.Second,from the perspective of behavioral characteristics,"lying flat" young people have behavioral characteristics such as lack of goals,unwillingness to work hard,and lack of mental motivation.Third,from the perspective of behavioral process,"lying flat" young people generally experience a gradual transformation from "not lying down" to "lying down".Based on these characteristics,the author interprets the term ’lying flat’ in this article as the ’anomie’ behavior of young people who no longer comply with society’s requirements for their ’active progress’.The emergence of this anomie behavior can be analyzed from two perspectives: horizontally,behavior can be decomposed into three elements: goals,means,and motivation.Mismatch of means,deviation from goals,and loss of meaning are the fundamental reasons for young people’s lack of active effort and behavior "anomie";From a vertical perspective,the "lying flat" behavior has undergone a dynamic development process of laying the foundation,producing,and shaping.Based on this framework,this article elaborates on the process of "lying flat" behavior in three stages from three dimensions:means,goals,and meaning motivation.The first stage: school and family education.This stage is the foundation stage for the ’lying flat’ behavior.In this stage,there is no problem of "lying flat" in youth schools where young people identify with,accept social and cultural goals,and are willing to strive for them.However,due to the excessive emphasis on reading and material benefits in schools and families,education is disconnected from social practice,laying a certain foundation for "lying flat".Stage 2: After entering society and experiencing setbacks,young people no longer adhere to the social goal of "enterprising" and instead pursue individual "stability".This is the beginning stage of the ’lying flat’ behavior.When young people enter society after completing their education stage,they encounter three practical dilemmas: value erosion,means dilemma,and goal confusion.They are unable to maintain their original goals and gradually pursue "stability",which goes against the society’s demand for young people to "actively strive for progress",and misconduct begins to occur.The third stage: self abandonment after hopelessness and stability.This is the stereotypical stage of ’lying flat’ behavior.Due to the intense ’involution’,the demands of youth for ’stability’ cannot be realized.Youth gradually lose their motivation for life,only pursue basic survival needs,give up all attempts,and the ’lying flat’ behavior gradually becomes stereotyped.On this basis,this article points out that the essence of "lying flat" is the problem of young people gradually losing their initiative and passively adapting to the environment.The inability to meet the demands of young people,the disconnect between social goals and individual interests,and the failure of young people’s means of achieving goals are the deep-seated reasons behind their loss of initiative and gradual "lying flat".