Lying flat: why young people in Hong Kong are losing motivation in school

South China Morning Post

7 hours ago

Asha Lo worked hard in primary school. But after starting secondary school, she struggled to keep up with her classmates.
Now, she has decided to stop giving her all in her studies. Asha said she is 'lying flat', a term used to describe doing as little as possible to get by.
She is not the only young Hongkonger to do so. One survey by the Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association found that nearly half of the city's secondary school students were already lying flat or planning to.
'You see the gap between you and other people ... It's very hard to overcome,' the 16-year-old said.
Asha knows that lying flat will affect her grades. But for now, the teen said this lifestyle was good for her mental health.
'I feel happy knowing that it is not as stressful as some of my friends who take extra classes for every subject,' she said. 'At the same time, I feel disappointed with my grades.'
Too much stress
Ken Fung has been a child psychologist for 10 years. He said lying flat was often a response to the expectation to do well in school. It could be a way for students to protect themselves from feeling bad about their skills.
'When [students] fail, they can blame it on not working hard rather than their ability,' he said.
Adrian K Yee is a philosophy professor at Lingnan University. He said the competition and stress in Hong Kong could be overwhelming.
'It's unsurprising that people are saying, 'I have had enough of this … I'm going to enjoy life,'' Yee said.
Encourage teens to try again
Rainbow Chow has been a career coach for more than a decade. She said schools needed to help students find their path in life even if they failed at first. She suggested focusing on emotional intelligence instead of exams and scores.
According to Fung, wanting to lie flat could be a sign that students need to take a break. But instead of giving up, the psychologist recommended doing something that brings you joy.
Tim*, a secondary school teacher, also encouraged students to work hard for an easier future.
Asha plans to change her approach eventually. She hopes to become a history teacher or archaeologist one day. With this goal in mind, she feels ready to begin preparing for her university entrance exams.
'I'd start by dropping my habit of being a couch potato and start reading books first,' she said.