啃老
释义 DEFINITION
啃老（kěn lǎo）字面意为"啃食老人"，现主要指成年子女在经济上长期依赖父母的现象。该词包含三层含义：
- 基本定义：不具备独立生活能力，需要父母提供住房、生活费甚至育儿资金
- 社会延伸：部分年轻人主动选择"躺平"，拒绝就业或深造
- 网络语境：常见用于批评"巨婴"行为，也常被年轻人自嘲使用（如："25岁还在啃老的我"）
根据2022年中国青年报调查，18-35岁群体中约34%承认存在不同程度啃老行为，主要集中于住房支出（68%）、育儿费用（52%）和日常开销（29%）
词源故事 ETYMOLOGY
啃老现象最早可追溯至2003年《人民日报》报道的"袋鼠族"，但真正成为网络热词是在2010年后。随着房价暴涨（2009-2019年北上广房价上涨387%）和"996"工作制普及，越来越多年轻人发现即使全职工作也难以负担独立生活。
2015年电视剧《欢乐颂》中樊胜美角色引发热议，"原生家庭依赖"话题微博阅读量达4.2亿次。2020年新冠疫情后出现新变种"数字啃老"——子女通过微信不断向父母索取红包（据统计，35%的95后每月收到父母转账超3000元）。
典型使用场景：
- 父母抱怨："供你读完硕士还要啃老到什么时候？"
- 自嘲表情包："25岁全款买下支付宝，感谢父母零花钱"配图储蓄罐
- 社会新闻："35岁男子啃老被起诉，法院判决每月支付父母3000元"
DEFINITION
The term Kenlao (lit. 'gnawing on the elderly') describes adult children who financially depend on their parents like metaphorical parasites. It captures three social realities:
- Core Meaning: Adults requiring parental support for housing, living expenses, or childcare
- Cultural Context: Reflecting China's 4-2-1 family structure (4 grandparents, 2 parents, 1 child) creating dependency pressures
- Generational Conflict: Often used to critique youth unemployment (20.8% for 16-24yr in 2023) amid housing unaffordability (avg. 13.3x income-to-home price ratio)
ETYMOLOGY
The Kenlao phenomenon gained traction during China's post-80s generation. As only children raised under the One-Child Policy entered adulthood, they faced skyrocketing home prices (Beijing's avg. ￥64,000/sqm in 2023 vs ￥12,300 in 2010) and shrinking job markets.
A 2022 survey showed 61% of Chinese parents still financially support adult children, averaging ￥5,200/month. This contrasts sharply with Western norms - while 52% of US adults 18-29 live with parents per Pew Research, Chinese society views prolonged dependency as shameful.
Memes like "My parents are my human ATMs" circulate on WeChat, reflecting both self-deprecation and social critique. The term took new dimensions during COVID-19, with "pandemic boomerangers" returning to parental homes as urban rents spiked 18% in 2022.