Living in 'garbage time': When 500 million Chinese change their spending habits

Borrowed from basketball slang, the phrase buzzing on social media sites refers to the final minutes of a game whose outcome is already decided.

- Christian Yao

China's economic rocket ride appears to be ending - or slowing, at least. Growth has declined from 8.4 per cent in 2021 to 4.5 per cent today, youth unemployment has climbed to 16.9 per cent, and cities are filled with unfinished buildings after the collapse of property developer Evergrande in 2024.

For a while now, a phrase has been buzzing on Chinese social media sites Weibo and RedNote to describe what's happening: "garbage time".

Borrowed from basketball slang, it refers to the final minutes of a game whose outcome is already decided. The best players sit out. The bench players take over. No one tries as hard because there's less at stake.

The term caught on in 2024 and seems to capture a mixture of sadness and dark humour. Basically, people now seem to expect less. It's not so much an economic crash as a slow decline of hope.

For those born in the 1980s and 1990s, who grew up during China's four decades of fast growth, this is a major shift. Wages aren't climbing, houses are losing value, and jobs in tech and finance are harder to find.

But "garbage time" is also making room for younger and middle class Chinese to redefine success and contentment. With good jobs, luxury goods and home ownership now harder to attain, a generation is questioning what matters most in a changing socioeconomic landscape.