Overcoming youth online isolation in China by supporting neighbourhood community interactions through co-created outdoor personal spaces
List of Authors
  • Jun Du , Nor Atiah Ismail

Keyword
  • Applied social psychology, Neighbourhood community interactions, Online living, Youth’s health and well-being, Co-created personal spaces

Abstract
  • The fast pace of urban life, the high cost of living, and the complexity of interpersonal relationships are triggering social isolation among urban residential youths in China. Furthermore, online demand is causing social isolation due to a lack of physical human interactions which leads to poorer mental and physical health. Therefore, there is a need to get the youth generation to go offline to enjoy natural living and live healthily in society. A desktop survey was conducted as part of a larger study to improve community engagement in urban residential outdoor environments for youth. The results found offline community engagement could improve the well-being of young residents by taking advantage of its positive physical and mental effects. Using visual tools for exploring the functional and aesthetic landscape needs and motivation for co-creating personalized spaces in a residential community is proposed. After the introduction of the background problem, this proposal will present the literature survey results on youth generation in China, urban residential outdoor environment, and improved community engagement. This study contributes to the development of an offline community engagement model for youths in residential communities. The proposed model is expected to alleviate the current social isolation situation for the youth generation. Future studies are recommended to include the identification of key characteristics of the youth generation and the lifestyles they prefer, applications of the new co-design mode in the design phase, and application of new visual technology in landscape design practice.

Reference
  • 1. Arnett, J. J., Žukauskienė, R., & Sugimura, K. (2014). The new life stage of emerging adulthood at ages 18–29 years: Implications for mental health. The Lancet Psychiatry, 1(7), 569-576.

    2. Askari, A. H., Soltani, S., & @ Ahmad, I. M. (2015). Engagement in public open spaces across age groups: The case of Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur city, Malaysia. Urban Design International, 20, 93-106.

    3. Bouadam, R., & Chetbi, W. (2024). The contribution of inhabitants to the development of public spaces in eastern Algeria, Constantine. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), 1-15.

    4. Chan, G. H. (2020). Intimacy, friendship, and forms of online communication among hidden youth in Hong Kong. Computers in Human Behavior, 111, 106407.

    5. Chen, Y., Liu, T., Xie, X., & Marušić, B. G. (2016). What attracts people to visit community open spaces? A case study of the Overseas Chinese Town community in Shenzhen, China. International journal of environmental research and public health, 13(7), 644.

    6. Cheung, A. K. L., & Yeung, W. J. J. (2021). Socioeconomic development and young adults’ propensity of living in one-person households. Demographic Research, 44, 277-306.

    7. Chu, M., Ma, H., Lee, C. Y., Zhao, Z., Chen, T., Zhang, S., & Chiang, Y. C. (2023). Effect of online and offline social network group clusters on life satisfaction across age groups. Heliyon, 9(5).

    8. Collin, P., & Swist, T. (2016). From products to publics? The potential of participatory design for research on youth, safety and well-being. Journal of Youth Studies, 19(3), 305-318.

    9. Du, T., Fertner, C., Jiang, W., Andersen, L. M., & Vejre, H. (2023). Understanding the change in the social networks of residential groups affected by urban renewal. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 98, 106970.

    10. Freeman, O. E., Duguma, L. A., & Minang, P. A. (2015). Operationalizing the integrated landscape approach in practice. Ecology and Society, 20(1).

    11. Goessling, K. P. (2020). Youth participatory action research, trauma, and the arts: designing youthspaces for equity and healing. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 33(1), 12-31.

    12. Hadavi, S., Kaplan, R., & Hunter, M. C. R. (2015). Environmental affordances: A practical approach for design of nearby outdoor settings in urban residential areas. Landscape and urban planning, 134, 19-32.

    13. Harris, V., Kendal, D., Hahs, A. K., & Threlfall, C. G. (2018). Green space context and vegetation complexity shape people’s preferences for urban public parks and residential gardens. Landscape Research, 43(1), 150-162.

    14. Hu, F. Z., & Chou, K. L. (2016). Understanding the transition to independent living among urban youth: A decomposition analysis for Hong Kong. Habitat International, 51, 141-148.

    15. Husu, H. M., & Välimäki, V. (2017). Staying inside: social withdrawal of the young, Finnish ‘Hikikomori’. Journal of Youth Studies, 20(5), 605-621.

    16. Ibrahim, R. (2008). Setting Up a Research Question for Determining the Research Methodology. Alam Cipta Intl.J on Sustainable Tropical Design Research and Practice,3(1), 69-72.

    17. Ibrahim, R. (2011). Demystifying the arduous doctoral journey: The eagle vision of a research proposal. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 9(2), 130-140.

    18. Ibrahim, R. & Mustafa Kamal, R. (2018). Templates for Thinking. (Unpublished Literary. Copyright MYIPO LY2018002437).

    19. Jauch, M., Lalot, F., & Greifeneder, R. (2023). No man is an island: Men living alone during COVID‐19 report lower need satisfaction and well‐being. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology.

    20. Kanbay, M., Tanriover, C., Copur, S., Peltek, I. B., Mutlu, A., Mallamaci, F., & Zoccali, C. (2023). Social isolation and loneliness: Undervalued risk factors for disease states and mortality. European Journal of Clinical Investigation, e14032.

    21. Latikka, R., Savela, N., Rubio‐Hernández, R., Koivula, A., Makkonen, J., Nieto Fernández, F., ... & Oksanen, A. (2023). Combating loneliness: The role of neighbourhood ICT, environmental attractiveness, and a sense of belonging to a local community. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 33(5), 1061-1077.

    22. Laurence, J. (2019). Community disadvantage, inequalities in adolescent subjective well-being, and local social relations: The role of positive and negative social interactions. Social Science & Medicine, 237, 112442.

    23. Li, Y., Zhang, S., & Zhu, D. (2023). Co-creation of community micro-renewals: Model analysis and case studies in Shanghai, China. Habitat International, 142, 102951.

    24. Lin, T., & Wang, D. (2015). Tradeoffs between in-and out-of-residential neighborhood locations for discretionary activities and time use: do social contexts matter?. Journal of transport geography, 47, 119-127.

    25. Oshio, T., & Kan, M. (2019). Which is riskier for mental health, living alone or not participating in any social activity? Evidence from a population-based eleven-year survey in Japan. Social Science & Medicine, 233, 57-63.

    26. Peng, J., Chen, X., Liu, Y., Lü, H., & Hu, X. (2016). Spatial identification of multifunctional landscapes and associated influencing factors in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, China. Applied Geography, 74, 170-181.

    27. Prahalad, C. K., & Ramaswamy, V. (2004). Co-creation experiences: The next practice in value creation. Journal of interactive marketing, 18(3), 5-14.

    28. Przepiorka, A., Blachnio, A., & Cudo, A. (2019). The role of depression, personality, and future time perspective in internet addiction in adolescents and emerging adults. Psychiatry research, 272, 340-348.

    29. Qiao, X. J., Liu, Y., & Feng, J. (2022). Evaluating the Landscape Quality of Residential Communities: A Case Study of the Chinese City Yangling. Land, 12(1), 57.

    30. Sanders, E. B. N., & Stappers, P. J. (2008). Co-creation and the new landscapes of design. Co-design, 4(1), 5-18.

    31. Su, Y., Zhang, X., & Chen, X. (2023). How to alleviate alienation from the perspective of urban community public space—Evidence from urban young residents in China. Habitat International, 138, 102836.

    32. Triguero-Mas, M., Donaire-Gonzalez, D., Seto, E., Valentín, A., Martínez, D., Smith, G., ... & Nieuwenhuijsen, M. J. (2017). Natural outdoor environments and mental health: Stress as a possible mechanism. Environmental research, 159, 629-638.

    33. Vergeer, M., & Pelzer, B. (2009). Consequences of media and Internet use for offline and online network capital and well-being. A causal model approach. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 15(1), 189-210.

    34. Wang, M., Xu, S., Liu, W., Zhang, C., Zhang, X., Wang, L., ... & Wang, W. (2020). Prevalence and changes of BMI categories in China and related chronic diseases: Cross-sectional National Health Service Surveys (NHSSs) from 2013 to 2018. EClinicalMedicine, 26.

    35. Wong, M. (2020). Hidden youth? A new perspective on the sociality of young people ‘withdrawn’in the bedroom in a digital age. New Media & Society, 22(7), 1227-1244.

    36. Yigitcanlar, T., Kamruzzaman, M., & Teriman, S. (2015). Neighborhood sustainability assessment: Evaluating residential development sustainability in a developing country context. Sustainability, 7(3), 2570-2602.

    37. Yu, J. (2021). Union formation and childbearing among Chinese youth: Trends and socioeconomic differentials. Chinese journal of sociology, 7(4), 593-618.

    38. Zhang, H., Matsuoka, R. H., & Huang, Y. J. (2018). How do community planning features affect the place relationship of residents? An investigation of place attachment, social interaction, and community participation. Sustainability, 10(8), 2726.

    39. Zhao, L. (2021). The impact of social media use types and social media addiction on subjective well-being of college students: A comparative analysis of addicted and non-addicted students. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 4, 100122.

    40. Zhu, Y. (2015). Toward community engagement: Can the built environment help? Grassroots participation and communal space in Chinese urban communities. Habitat International, 46, 44-53.