niuz

Tap one to read its news. Starred ones come first in the row.

‘Zero-energy companionship’: bizarre hobby takes seed among China’s stressed young adults

1 source

6h agonow

One source
What the source said
The Guardian – World
“‘Zero-energy companionship’: bizarre hobby takes seed among China’s stressed young adults”

Faced with a stagnant jobs market, many are spurning children or pets in favour of ‘raising bricks’ Chinese young adults looking for a cheaper, low-maintenance alternative to having pets or children have found an answer: raising bricks. Bricks may not be as cuddly as cats or as life-affirming as human offspring, but they also cost next to nothing. “No cats, no dating, I started raising a brick,” wrote one brick parent on social media. Continue reading...

Read at The Guardian – World
Is this point wrong? Tell us

Reported by one source so far. It is confirmed when a second, independent source reports the same thing.

Top world stories now

How recent

The shading behind a date drains as it ages: full when new, three quarters at 1 hour, half at 6 hours, a quarter at 12 hours, empty after a day. The date is when the source published it.

Timeline

The line under a story shows when it was reported. Now is at the end. The shaded part runs from its first article to its latest; each mark is an article, taller where several came out within 15 minutes. In lists the line is the last two days, so stories compare; a faded start means the story began earlier. On a story page it runs from the first article to now.