“Lying flat” in the fast lane: how first-tier Chinese university students retreat from hard-work

This study investigates the phenomenon of “lying flat” among students in China’s first-tier universities, focusing on its underlying psychological mechanisms, socioeconomic conditions, and emotional dynamics. Based on in-depth interviews with 62 participants, the study examines how high-achieving students rationally withdraw from institutional demands despite prior academic success. The findings reveal that intense social pressure and emotional fatigue emerge as dominant psychological stressors. Meanwhile, resource imbalances—such as depleted time, energy, and perceived opportunity—contribute to a growing sense of futility and disillusionment. The act of “lying flat” functions not as laziness or failure, but as a morally grounded, cognitively aware coping strategy in response to perceived structural constraints. The dominant social framing of these students as apathetic misrepresents the complexity of their motivations and overlooks the ideological contradictions embedded in China’s meritocratic educational model.