China has lately witnessed an increase of so-called empty-nest youth, or young people who live alone, which experts believe is a cause for public concern.

最近，中国所谓的"空巢青年"人群有所增加（空巢青年即指独自居住的年轻人），专家认为这会导致公众的担忧。

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that 12.45 percent of households were inhabited by one person in 2015. The figure in 2008 was 8.3 percent.

据国家统计局的数据显示，2015年，12.45%的家庭中只有一个人居住。2008年时这一数据还只是8.3%。

Specifically, of this "empty-nest" population, solitary¹ young residents are especially common, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

据新华社报道，特别而言，在这些"空巢"人群当中，独自居住的年轻人特别常见。

The term "empty-nest" was originally applied² to elderly people living alone after their children are grown and out of the house.

"空巢"这个词本来用于那些子女长大、搬出去之后独自居住的老年人。

A report on empty-nest youth found that this group tends to feel lonelier than their peers, and their personal lives are largely confined to their rented apartments.

据一份关于"空巢青年"的报告显示，这些人比他们的同龄人更加孤独，而他们的个人生活很大程度上局限在租来的小公寓里。

As they typically live far from work to save money on rent, these youth often spend hours commuting³, leaving them exhausted⁴ in the evenings.

为了省钱，他们通常租住在离工作较远的地方，这些年轻人往往需要在通勤方面花上好几个小时，使得自己在晚上筋疲力尽。

Even so, this population chooses to live in big cities, as they are attracted to the opportunities in such metropolises⁵.

即便如此，这些人仍然选择留在大城市，因为大城市里的机会吸引着他们。

Meanwhile, empty-nest youth are more inclined to spend money on better food, high-quality clothes and digital products. Some 21 percent of the group have no savings⁶ or are slightly in debt, according to the report, which was conducted by Baidu Waimai and Wacai.com.

与此同时，空巢青年也更加倾向于花钱购买更好的食品、高品质衣物和数码产品。据百度外卖和挖财网的报告显示，21%的空巢青年没有存款、或者背负有小额债务。

The emergence⁷ of empty-nest youth is a result of imbalanced social and economic development between big cities and smaller towns. It is also a natural result of China's ongoing⁸ urbanization, Wang Yingmei, an associate professor of psychology⁹ at Sichuan University, told Xinhua.

空巢青年的出现是大城市和小城市之间不平衡社会经济发展的结果。四川大学心理学副教授王英梅向新华社透露，这也是中国目前正在进行的城市化所带来的一个自然结果。

Still, experts warned that the growing size of this group could bring problems, affecting the population's psychology and marital¹⁰ aspirations¹¹. Some recommended that youth get in engaged in community activities.

不过，专家警告称，空巢青年人群的扩大可能会带来一些问题，对该人群的心理和结婚愿望造成影响。因此，专家建议年轻人应该多参与社区活动。