The “Fragmented” Age: The Cause of “Fragmented” Social Life and the Consequences of it Resulting in the Decrease in Birth Rate in China from 2001 to 2021

Abstract

During 2001 and 2021, the country of China experienced a clear decrease in birth rate. There should be the main reason, which leads to this result. It can be inferred that the downward sloping of birth rate is the consequence of the “fragmented” social life, which started to form in the millennium. “fragmented” social life” in this paper is mainly referring to a lifestyle in China since the beginning of the 21st century. This social lifestyle is motivated by the economic change and the policies since 2001, combined with China joining WTO (World Trade Organization). The concept of “fragment” in sociology was first presented by the author Bell Hooks when addressing the problem of the "hierarchy of oppression" within the feminist movement. I define the lifestyle as “fragmented” mainly because of some characteristics of the change are engaged with fast business mode and the rapid growth of a fictitious economy. This change made Chinese society more separated both physically and mentally, which will be further illustrated in the following paper.