60 People, 60 Stories

Ready to rule

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-30 08:27

China's "little emperors" are used to being the center of attention.

Patrick Shaou-Whea Dodge teaches culture and communication for the University of Colorado Denver's International College At Beijing at China Agricultural University.

The generation of children born in the 1980s under China's Law on Population and Family Planning has grown up with many changes in family structure, economic expansion, values, habits and practices compared to earlier generations.

Used to being the center of attention, the post-'80s generation gets what it wants, when it wants.

Seem a little spoiled?

Look to family structure and we see a little emperor placed on a throne, waited on hand and foot.

Intelligent and clever, little emperors possess a world view unlike past generations. Look at employment, and the little emperors are taking the reins, driving business in innovative ways. Little emperors' tech-savvy when it comes to cell phones, laptops and iTouch-es have earned them bragging rights on the Internet.

Look to love and we find "twenty-something" little emperors with little empresses packed in restaurants, cinemas and taking over dance floors. Look to money and economic expansion, and it's concentrated around little emperors in cities.Look to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and little emperors are communicating with the world as volunteers. Look in the purse or wallet of a little emperor and there's bound to be an assortment of VIP, discount and credit cards.

Growing up spoiled has its advantages but also its responsibilities.Little emperors must stretch the limits of Chinese traditions and conventions in new and innovative ways.

The post-modern, post-80s generation of little emperors is the generation with the consumption power that will propel China toward its throne in the global economy.