How has China’s meteoric growth psychologically impacted its people? To
find out, researchers from the American
Journal of Human Biology traveled to Hainan Island and
asked how stress was linked to two trappings of modernity; eating pork
and owning a mobile phone.
A meaty diet and an increased ownership of consumer goods were chosen as
the two most common lifestyle changes associated with modernization. 612
islanders were screened for anti-bodies of Epstein-Barr, a form of
herpes virus, which is almost ubiquitous in economically developed
communities, and serves as an indicator for stress levels.
Pork is a traditional symbol of affluence for rural Chinese communities,
while a mobile phone is seen as a vital social tool, especially for
younger generations living in China’s expansive countryside.
The results show that psychological stress was higher among those who
reported eating pork, but lower among those who were more likely to
spend money on a mobile phone. The authors propose that as mobile phones
prevent isolation and act as a marker of integration into the wider,
modern community, people are subject to less stress if the sphere of
their social activities expands in the course of economic development.
