A Shanghai TV channel on Monday published the results of the
2006 Chinese people's fashion index. The result reflects Chinese
people's lifestyle changes and the evolution of their ideas over
the past 3-5 years, the Shanghai Evening Post reported.
The event was initiated by Channel Young, a Shanghai-based TV
channel focusing on fashion trends.
While focusing on people's sense of happiness, the investigation
results seem to indicate that the richer people become, the fewer
friends they have and that people with a high education and good
income do not necessarily have a happier life than those who have
neither. In fact, they generally feel more anxious for it.
Nearly 20 percent of those interviewed in the report had the
experience of buying luxury goods. However, over 50 percent of them
felt regretful after doing so. This is even more common for younger
consumers who are well-educated and have a higher income.
The investigation also shows that nowadays, people cook less at
home. 17.2 percent of the people interviewed never ate breakfast at
home and 17.4 percent never have lunch in their house. In addition,
7 percent of those polled had dinner less than 10 times a month at
home. People with college education cook 33 percent less than those
who quit after junior middle school whereas people earning 5,000
yuan or higher cook 30 percent less than those making less than
1,500 a month. Furthermore, high-income families usually have less
time to have dinner together.
Feeling satisfied is a major factor in feeling happy. This shows
that urban people's life tempo has become faster than it used to
be. When people spend less time at home, their sense of belonging
and satisfaction is diminished. Thus, even if they make more money
and can afford sumptuous food every day at expensive restaurants,
they won't necessarily feel happier than those who have simple food
at home, said Professor Feng, a staff member at the Horizon Group
which conducted the investigation.
Nowadays, many people ignore friends made in traditional ways
and turn to a wider but more distant social circle. As a result,
they have a lot of friends yet fewer close friends. Many people
admit that they don't have any close friends. This, according to
Feng, is one of the main reasons why people feel unhappy. Trends
show that the richer one becomes, the fewer friends one has.
The China fashion index was based on a sample investigation
polling 2,000 people living in 7 cities in China, including
Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou.
(China News Service November 9, 2006)