Young Chinese people value pets more than spouses

Yi calls her two dogs, a 4-year-old Schnauzer and a 4-month-old German Shepherd, her children, "Mom." She spends time with them every day and takes them to many pet events on the weekends. "Like any other parent, I take meticulous care of their physical and mental health, giving them the best care," she said.

A white paper on China's pet industry shows that people born after 1980 and 1990 have the most pets, accounting for 78%.

Analysis shows that young people are one of the most dynamic consumer groups in the market because they are highly educated, easily attracted to emerging products and consumer trends, and have the financial ability to provide a good quality of life for their pets. Many others raise pets like raising children, providing them with good food, nice clothes, quality medical care, and travel.

According to statistics from data companyTianyanchaShenzhen, China's youngest city, where the average age of residents is 32.5, now has more than 84,000 pet-related businesses, a six-fold increase from 12,000 in 2020.

Completed in December last year, aPark represents the city’s efforts to create a commercial eco-hub for the pet economy. The Shenzhen government is investing heavily in the sector, including opening China’s first pet lounge at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, launching pet-friendly bus routes, and promoting the construction of more pet-friendly shopping malls and parks.

Song Ding, a researcher at the China Development Institute (Shenzhen), said that pets are good companions for China's rapidly aging society, where young people are increasingly delaying or not getting married. The rise of the "silver-haired economy" (consumers over 50) and the "single economy" have driven the rapid development of the pet economy in recent years.

Compared with married couples, young singles often have higher purchasing power and play an important role in promoting the pet economy. Guangzhou-based psychologist Wei Zhizhong pointed out that even as the young generation's attitudes toward marriage and parenthood change, their emotional needs remain unchanged. However, because the cost of love is getting higher, they have to temporarily suppress this internal need or find other ways to satisfy it.

Wei believes that young people keeping pets as children can be seen as another way for them to express their emotions and gain emotional fulfillment from the loyalty and companionship that dogs and cats provide.

"But pets can only satisfy people's desire for love and care. They cannot satisfy a higher sense of self-worth and the meaning of life," the expert said.

There is no denying that keeping pets is beneficial, however, experts do not consider this an alternative to getting married, having children and filling emotional voids.

Yi Ke herself advocates not getting married, but she asserts that keeping pets and not getting married are two separate issues that should not be discussed together.

"I raise dogs because I love them. I don't want to get married because I love freedom," she said.