Are relationships between older women and younger men reliable? Can female PhDs get married? How long should a relationship last before cohabitation? Take a look at this big data analysis – it will definitely open your mind! The Social Science Data Research Center of Fudan University conducted a six-month in-home survey of 3,311 families in 80 communities across Shanghai, conducting one-on-one interviews. The final analysis resulted in the following professional, scientific, and efficient guide to choosing a partner!
1. "A woman three years older than her husband is a golden brick"? Sounds plausible! "A little girl with an older man"? Haha~
Researchers found that about 70% of married couples born in the 1980s had an age difference of no more than three years. Within these marriages, respondents whose husbands were 3 or 4 years younger than their wives experienced peak satisfaction with their partners; conversely, those whose husbands were 7 years older than their partners had the lowest satisfaction.
It seems the saying "marrying a woman three years older is like finding a gold brick" is indeed true. Gentlemen, bravely embrace relationships with older women; they'll cherish you. As for the older man/younger woman pairing, well, all I can say is "heh." Ladies, wake up! Young men, your revenge is complete!
2. The longer the premarital cohabitation period, the higher the marital satisfaction.
Among the married individuals with cohabitation experience, 18% chose to get married within a month of cohabitation; over 35% married after six months, which is the largest group; and 25% married within six months to a year.
People who have lived together for a year and a half or more have the highest satisfaction with their partners. Perhaps for the sake of long-term happiness, "trial marriage" does have its rationale.
3. Money and looks don't matter when looking for a partner... Are you sure?
The three most important criteria people place on a potential romantic partner are: lifestyle habits, personality, and intelligence. If your intelligence is a weakness, try to improve your lifestyle habits and personality. If you have weaknesses in both... well, even God can't help you.
But something felt off... Then I remembered that a video had appeared on social media today, and it had a lot of likes:
My friend said there's a girl here who's incredibly talented, comes from a wealthy family, just returned from studying in the US, has understanding parents, a wonderful personality, and is also an excellent cook. He asked if I wanted to meet her. I said no. My friend said, "Why?" I said, "You've listed so many good qualities, but you haven't even mentioned her face."
4. The most harmonious relationships are formed when educational levels are similar.
The most obvious manifestation of this is the concept of "marrying someone of equal social standing." Data shows that when examining the household registration (hukou) of both parents of a couple as a measure of their family background, only 30% of couples born in the 1980s had different hukou. Among the remaining 70% of those with the same hukou, about 40% had agricultural hukou and about 30% had non-agricultural hukou.
Measurements of differences in educational levels between spouses also revealed this characteristic: an overwhelming 92.6% of couples had similar levels of education. "Similar" means that the couple's educational levels were either the same or differed by one level.
Therefore, the educational differences between husband and wife should not be too great. Otherwise, if you watch "Country Love" and I watch "2666" before bed, the scene is too beautiful for me to bear...
5. How long should a couple date before moving in together?
The survey shows that 43% of respondents have cohabited before marriage. Among them, 30% started cohabiting within six months of dating, less than 40% within a year, and 15% within one and a half to two years.
But does the fact that over 40% of people cohabit before marriage mean that those born in the 1980s are more open-minded about sex than their parents?
In fact, 60% of the respondents who cohabited before marriage were engaged; 34.5% were not engaged but had clear plans to get married; and only a very small number of people, about 5%, were neither engaged nor had any plans to get married before cohabiting.
It's clear that most people born in the 1980s still prefer to believe the truth that "dating without the intention of marriage is just playing around"...
6. The higher the level of education, the stronger the sense of happiness.
But if you think that reading more books only leads to more money, you're too naive. This survey focused on the impact of educational experience on people's lives. Data shows that higher levels of education correlate with higher levels of happiness and increased general trust in strangers.
Therefore, being a top student is definitely worthwhile. If you have a high level of education but are currently just an average person, don't let that make you doubt your life!
However, becoming a top student isn't something you can just decide to do... Here's a roundabout way: Find a top student and grow old together!
7. Communist Party members' income is significantly higher than that of non-Party members.
The survey shows that respondents' income levels increase significantly with their education level, with 43% and 78% of those with a bachelor's degree and a master's degree respectively being high-income earners. (Note: The study defines high-income earners as those earning over 120,000 yuan annually.)
Here's the key point! The income level of Communist Party members is significantly higher than that of non-members, especially among high-income groups, where the proportion of Party members is as high as 67.7%. Now you understand what "always representing the development requirements of China's advanced productive forces" in the "Three Represents" means, right? Everyone should actively strive for progress!
8. Does life really require "winning at the starting line"?
Data shows that among graduates of provincial and ministerial-level universities, the proportion of students from key high schools is the highest, but the proportion from key junior high schools and key primary schools is relatively low.
Therefore, the feverish demand for school district housing in various regions needs to cool down. Those parents who have already set their sights on the "center of the universe" and are prepared to spend a fortune, shouldn't you consider the return on your investment...?
Does the idea of "becoming a CEO, winning the heart of a beautiful and wealthy woman, and reaching the pinnacle of life" really require preparation starting from elementary school or even kindergarten? At least in this study from Fudan University, we did not find a significant relationship between key schools at the lower educational levels and the quality of higher education at the end.
9. "Competing based on one's father's connections" is cruel, but "competing based on one's mother's connections" is even more important.
Undoubtedly, this is an era where "connections matter," and the world is indeed cruel. But how exactly are you so cruelly defeated by someone else's father? The research report offers some explanations.
After completing their education and entering the workforce, the "competition based on family background" game is far from over. Furthermore, there is a certain correlation between the occupations of the respondents' parents and their income levels. Respondents whose parents were "heads of enterprises and institutions," "professional and technical personnel," or "commercial service personnel" had a higher proportion of high-income earners than other groups.
The survey shows that among those whose parents have a college degree or higher, half are high-income earners. The correlation between mother's education level and income is even stronger. In other words, a highly educated mother is more important for the future income level of her children born in the 1980s.
If you're thinking about the next generation, men might consider dating women with higher educational qualifications than themselves. So, you've all misunderstood female PhDs!
