Shen and several fellow students, born in the early 1980s, were said by Chinese media to be "selfish and irresponsible" for returning home and blamed for spreading the virus.

That, it seems, was the first time the "born in the 1980s" crowd had found themselves in such an unfavourable light.

This loosely-defined "born in the 1980s" group has been the topic of online discussions and other media. They're known for being "creative" and "aggressive" by older people.

No doubt the special social, economic and cultural conditions they were brought up in did shape their identity (if there is one).

The "born in the 1980s" group were born after the reforms and opening-up that began in 1978, when new ideas and goods began entering the country, influencing young minds and their sense of culture.

They have grown up with family planning. And with terms like special economic zone, KFC, McDonald's, Hollywood movies, and Coca Cola.

They live amongst greater variety and a higher standard of living than earlier generations, said Sun Yunxiao, deputy director of the China Youth and Child Research Association. "These youngsters are more developed than any generation at that age."

Most are the only child and the "centre" of the family.

That has given them a greater amount of attention and, ironically, less privacy. They could also be said to have less freedom than the earlier generations had.

"When there are eight children around the house, parents have only an eighth of the time to care about what you're doing," says Lin Wei, 21. "My whole life is exposed to my parents since I'm the only child. I hate this feeling."

Since they have had less freedom (or independence, as they see it), they've gone in pursuit of it. Their need or desire for independence and personal orientation are expressed more strongly than earlier generations did.

Me generation

Their "important role" in the family has also meant a greater concentration and focus on the individual. And, it has made the word "me" one of the most frequently used words. Everything seems to be about "me". This generation has a greater awareness of itself.

Some people do not seem to agree that all this is self-centred. When Cai Fuchao, Beijing's publicity head, was asked to comment on the lack of responsibility of university students during the SARS period, his reply was: "Modern university students are ambitious, knowledgeable and have a very strong sense of responsibility to the society."

A news analyst from Sina.com, Pan Fengliang, agreed, saying that blindly blaming them (for running away during the SARS outbreak) was prejudiced and unfair and not backed with evidence.

No doubt, the development of information technology has contributed its bit in broadening, or bending, the minds of the 80s generation.

Some people even call Gen '80 "the E-generation". They get in touch with each other via email, QQ, ICQ and MSN.

While the people of the '60s and '70s swarmed to Shanghai to catch Lo Tayu (Luo Dayou), Gen '80 were on the BBS saying that it was "really really dumb".

"The Internet is so much more to those of the '80s than you can imagine," said Wu Junyong, an IT engineer who was born in 1978.

In Wu's opinion, it's the Internet that separates the '70s from the '80s. "Many of the '70s don't see how those from the '80s can spend every day in front of a computer."

A New Weekly Magazine/163.com survey last year found that 40 per cent of the 7,000 people surveyed, born in the '80s, thought the computer was the most important article in life; more than 70 per cent of their parents preferred the home.

More say

The information age has meant that children have the same, if not greater, access to information as their parents, which poses a challenge to parental authority. They have more of a final say on things like fashion and technology.

In the same survey, 47 per cent of '80s people, aged 17 to 19, said they had more say in fashion than their parents. Some have the most important voice when it comes to buying new home appliances.

"We are precocious," says Zhu Yaoyao, a 19-year-old freshman in Beijing who believes she is fairly typical of the '80s generation.

Sometimes the lines blur. Experts say that people born in the '80s may not be the only possessors of these characteristics. A person born in the late 1970s might stick himself in the same group.

Wu, the IT engineer, thinks his uninterrupted online life identifies him as an '80s person.

According to a Beijing news analyst: "There are always individual differences, and the generation idea is incomplete. The '80s kids are too young, so wait a few years before we judge them as a group."

Pan from Sina.com says: "Some people have stuck a label on the '60s, calling it a hopeless age; the '70s, a confused age; and the '80s, a selfish age.

But, some call the '60s, an aroused age; the '70s, a more experienced age; and the '80s, an age that faces challenges.

"It just depends on how you see them. Different people have different views. No one has the right to label a whole generation because that's not the reality of life."

| frontpage | nation | business | HK\Taiwan | snapshots | focus |
| governmentinfo | economic insights | campus life | Shanghai today | metropolitan |