Influential Factors and Generation Logic of Young People's Willingness to Have Children from The Perspective of Big Others

Abstract

Against the background of the continuous evolution of low fertility, the willingness of young people to have children has shown a significant downward trend. The existing studies mostly explain from the economic cost and the institutional environment, but relatively ignore the construction process at the individual level. Based on this, this article introduces the theoretical perspective of "big others", understands the willingness to have children as a social action embedded in a specific symbolic order, and analyses the key influencing factors and their path in its formation from the three dimensions of norms, discourse and risk perception. The research adopts a qualitative method to carry out semi-structured interviews with urban youth, and analyse it in combination with relevant experience research. The study found that in contemporary society, the narrative of "ideal parents" is constantly strengthened through media discourse and peer comparison, raising the entry threshold of parents' roles; fertility is transformed into uncertain decision-making that requires comprehensive evaluation, and individuals tend to examine fertility behaviour with risk avoidance logic; on this basis, social norms through internal Chemical machine production is used for the main body, which promotes the individual to form "childhood anxiety" in comparison. Transforming fertility from the stage of life to a personal choice that needs to be repeatedly rationalised, thus inhibiting the willingness to have children.