The Lost Tradition: How the Younger Generation in China Is Severing Family Ties

With the rapid development of China's socio-economic landscape and the acceleration of modernization, there has been a noticeable alienation and even severance of relationships between the younger generation and their family relatives, a phenomenon known as "severing family ties." The root causes of this phenomenon can be attributed to two main factors. On one hand, the development of modernization has instilled a modern contractual spirit and corresponding rules of interaction in the younger generation. On the other hand, the decline of traditional Chinese family structures and the loss of traditional family culture have led to a weakening of kinship relationships that were traditionally built on clan ethics. Moreover, contemporary China has undergone multiple transformations in terms of residential patterns, family composition, social capital, emotional support, and lifestyle habits. These changes have not only profoundly reshaped the new generation's views on kinship but have also fostered the formation of a new cognitive model centered on the individual, based on personal emotions and interests. This paper analyzes the causes of the "severing family ties" phenomenon from the perspectives of cultural and social structural changes and offers a corresponding theoretical interpretation.