# Revealed: The Lifestyle That Robs People of Happiness

Chinese psychologists have found that young people who support the "lying flat" (tang ping) lifestyle are, on average, less satisfied with their lives. Moreover, it is this attitude that predicts a decline in satisfaction over time, and not the other way around. The study was published in the journal Behavioral Sciences.

The tang ping phenomenon originated in China as a form of quiet rebellion against exhausting competition, the career rat race, and the pursuit of material success. Adherents of this philosophy consciously limit themselves to minimal needs, refusing to fight for promotions, housing, or status at any cost. The expression literally translates as "lying on your back, doing nothing and not reacting to anything."

The movement emerged as a response to mass overwork, sky-high housing prices, economic inequality, and the infamous "996" culture — working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week. Supporters of tang ping openly speak about burnout and the complete lack of any tangible return from excessive effort.

Huanhua Lu and her colleagues set out to examine how adherence to the "lying flat" ideology is related to subjective well-being. The first study involved 960 students from Beijing with an average age of about 20. Some of them studied at a prestigious university, while others attended a regular college. Participants completed a tang ping tendency scale and a life satisfaction questionnaire.

The results were telling: the more strongly a person supported the "lying flat" lifestyle, the lower their satisfaction was — even after controlling for gender, age, and socioeconomic status. At the same time, women on average were more likely to share this attitude, as were students from the less prestigious institution.

In the second study, 109 students took the same tests twice, one month apart. The analysis revealed an important pattern: initial support for tang ping predicted a decline in life satisfaction one month later. At the same time, the initial level of satisfaction did not in any way predict an increase in the "lying flat" attitude.

The study authors conclude that abandoning aspirations may function as a short-term mechanism for reducing pressure, but in the long term it is associated with a deterioration in psychological functioning.