| Due to the continuous development of modernization,industrialization,and urbanization in our country,as well as the reasons for entering schools,working,and getting married,more and more young people have settled in various cities.However,because their parents have to take care of their children and grandchildren and old-age care,they also actively or passively follow them to move into the city where they are located,thus forming a group of elderly people who migrate with them.In the new environment,this group must go through a process of adapting to urban life.They should have been able to enjoy their lives after migrants,but this study has observed that there are elderly migrants picking up waste.Why do these old people have such "alternative behaviors" in their prosperous and stable lives? This has aroused the interest of this research.In view of this,this research adopts literature analysis method,non-participatory observation method and in-depth interview method.From the perspective of social adaptation theory,taking waste-picking behavior as an example,this paper studies 15 elderly people who migrate with their children from rural areas to cities and live for a long time in J community,Shaanxi Province,and elaborate on the reasons for the elderly people who migrate with them and their social adaptation.According to the research,whether it is because the elderly is widowed and seeks for care,or take care of grandchildren or go to the city to see a doctor,the interviewed elderly have limited self-support ability,lack of emotional support from children,uncomfortable family role change,lifestyle disorder or a weak sense of social identity,etc.As an active subject,the interviewees are not unresponsive,but adapts to society in a positive way.Picking up waste behavior is one of them.Respondents chose to pick up waste to initially adapt to society.They improve their economic ability by picking up waste,build a social circle outside the family,realize their value,continue the leisure way before moving with them,and gain a sense of security.But after a period of time,the elderly enter the adjustment stage of social adaptation strategies.At this stage,their picking up waste behavior is affected by the external environment,so some of the elderly accompanying migrants do not pick up the waste,while other elderly migrants choose to change the scope,time,content,types and tools of picking up the waste.After adjustment,this has brought about benign social adaptation results such as weakening of social discrimination,increased self-identity,having a "normalized" hobby,and stronger willingness to settle,indicating that some migrant elderly have adapted to the city through picking up the waste behaviors and subsequent adjustments. |
