Realities of Living Alone Thought About on Mother's Day: 90% of High School Students Aspire to It, While University Students Realize Parents' Gratitude Through "Meal Preparation" [CHINTAI x Studyplus Joint Survey]
A joint survey by CHINTAI and Studyplus reveals that while over 90% of high school students aspire to live alone, university students who actually experience it realize their parents' invaluable efforts, especially in "meal preparation." This highlights the gap between ideal and reality, and the importance of family support.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 7, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: May 7, 2026 at 10:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 7, 2026 at 11:46 (1h 14m after Collected)
Leading room-finding company CHINTAI Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Tomoya Okuda; hereinafter "CHINTAI") has collaborated with Studyplus Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Takashi Hirose), which operates the learning management app "Studyplus," to conduct a "Survey on Living Alone" targeting junior high, high school, and university students.
This survey, conducted just before Mother's Day, revealed that while over 90% of high school students aspire to live alone, many university students who have actually left their parents' homes realize their gratitude towards their parents for the first time through the "difficulty of self-cooking."
What is the reality behind the 90% of high school students who aspire to live alone? Gratitude to parents realized after moving out.
May 10, 2026, is Mother's Day. Many people may feel renewed gratitude towards their parents around this time, after some time has passed since the new life began with advancement to a new school or grade, and they gradually start getting used to their new environment.
The daily routines of meals, cleaning, and life rhythms that were naturally well-arranged at home must all be handled by oneself when living alone. Therefore, it is not uncommon to feel burdened and challenged in daily life. While many students have a positive image of living alone, such as "freedom" and "independence," there are often overlooked hurdles between that ideal and reality, such as housework and living expenses.
Therefore, this survey focused on the actual state of aspirations for living alone and its reasons, as well as the gaps felt after actually starting to live alone and changes in awareness towards parents. Through the real voices of students, the survey clarified the ideal and reality of living alone, and the existence of "support from parents" in the background.
Survey Results Summary
- 91.2% of students who responded that they "aspire to live alone" (combining "yes" and "somewhat yes") were high school students.
- The most common reason for aspiring to live alone was "I want to live at my own pace" at 66.1%.
- The most common reason for not aspiring to live alone was "housework seems difficult" at 71.3%.
- Among students who have experienced living alone, the most common moment they felt grateful to their parents was "when I realized the difficulty of self-cooking and preparing meals every day" at 27.3%.
- In the "What I want to tell my mother now that I live alone" section, it became clear that students rediscovered that their ordinary daily lives were protected by their mothers' dedication and love through unfamiliar self-cooking and laundry.
- The most common place where students could concentrate on studying was "cram school study space" at 26.7%, followed by "my room's desk" (21.4%).
Survey Results
■91.2% of high school students aspire to live alone. On the other hand, the most common reason for not aspiring is "housework seems difficult."
When asked about their aspirations for living alone, a total of 91.2% responded that they had aspirations (64.5% "yes," 26.7% "somewhat yes"). The most common reason was "I want to live my life at my own pace" (66.1%), followed by "I want to become independent and an adult sooner" (48.8%), and "I want to be able to invite friends and lovers over without hesitation anytime" (39.4%).
On the other hand, the most common reason for not aspiring to live alone was "housework (cooking, laundry, cleaning) seems difficult" (71.3%), and "financial anxiety such as rent and utility costs" (64.4%) was also frequently cited.
From these results, it was found that the desire to "become independent and an adult sooner" is strongly linked to the aspiration to live alone. For high school students, living alone is considered not just freedom of living but a "means to become an adult." However, anxieties about housework and living expenses are also significant, suggesting a gap between ideal and reality.
■The moment university students were most grateful to their parents was for "meal preparation."
The most common moment university students who actually experienced living alone felt grateful to their parents was "when I realized the difficulty of self-cooking and preparing meals every day" at 27.3%. This was followed by "when I realized the large cost of living expenses and food" (18.0%) and "when I felt that housework such as laundry and cleaning was more difficult than I expected" (14.9%), with situations where they realized the burden of maintaining daily life dominating the top ranks.
From these results, it can be seen that many students, through living alone, for the first time realize the immense support required to maintain the daily life they had previously taken for granted.
■In an unfamiliar kitchen, in a quiet room. The "greatness of mothers" understood only now.
Ahead of Mother's Day (May 10), the results of free responses collected for "What I want to tell my mother now that I live alone" revealed numerous messages of gratitude.
What emerged from the voices of university students who started living alone was that they had enjoyed it as a matter of course at home.
This survey, conducted just before Mother's Day, revealed that while over 90% of high school students aspire to live alone, many university students who have actually left their parents' homes realize their gratitude towards their parents for the first time through the "difficulty of self-cooking."
What is the reality behind the 90% of high school students who aspire to live alone? Gratitude to parents realized after moving out.
May 10, 2026, is Mother's Day. Many people may feel renewed gratitude towards their parents around this time, after some time has passed since the new life began with advancement to a new school or grade, and they gradually start getting used to their new environment.
The daily routines of meals, cleaning, and life rhythms that were naturally well-arranged at home must all be handled by oneself when living alone. Therefore, it is not uncommon to feel burdened and challenged in daily life. While many students have a positive image of living alone, such as "freedom" and "independence," there are often overlooked hurdles between that ideal and reality, such as housework and living expenses.
Therefore, this survey focused on the actual state of aspirations for living alone and its reasons, as well as the gaps felt after actually starting to live alone and changes in awareness towards parents. Through the real voices of students, the survey clarified the ideal and reality of living alone, and the existence of "support from parents" in the background.
Survey Results Summary
- 91.2% of students who responded that they "aspire to live alone" (combining "yes" and "somewhat yes") were high school students.
- The most common reason for aspiring to live alone was "I want to live at my own pace" at 66.1%.
- The most common reason for not aspiring to live alone was "housework seems difficult" at 71.3%.
- Among students who have experienced living alone, the most common moment they felt grateful to their parents was "when I realized the difficulty of self-cooking and preparing meals every day" at 27.3%.
- In the "What I want to tell my mother now that I live alone" section, it became clear that students rediscovered that their ordinary daily lives were protected by their mothers' dedication and love through unfamiliar self-cooking and laundry.
- The most common place where students could concentrate on studying was "cram school study space" at 26.7%, followed by "my room's desk" (21.4%).
Survey Results
■91.2% of high school students aspire to live alone. On the other hand, the most common reason for not aspiring is "housework seems difficult."
When asked about their aspirations for living alone, a total of 91.2% responded that they had aspirations (64.5% "yes," 26.7% "somewhat yes"). The most common reason was "I want to live my life at my own pace" (66.1%), followed by "I want to become independent and an adult sooner" (48.8%), and "I want to be able to invite friends and lovers over without hesitation anytime" (39.4%).
On the other hand, the most common reason for not aspiring to live alone was "housework (cooking, laundry, cleaning) seems difficult" (71.3%), and "financial anxiety such as rent and utility costs" (64.4%) was also frequently cited.
From these results, it was found that the desire to "become independent and an adult sooner" is strongly linked to the aspiration to live alone. For high school students, living alone is considered not just freedom of living but a "means to become an adult." However, anxieties about housework and living expenses are also significant, suggesting a gap between ideal and reality.
■The moment university students were most grateful to their parents was for "meal preparation."
The most common moment university students who actually experienced living alone felt grateful to their parents was "when I realized the difficulty of self-cooking and preparing meals every day" at 27.3%. This was followed by "when I realized the large cost of living expenses and food" (18.0%) and "when I felt that housework such as laundry and cleaning was more difficult than I expected" (14.9%), with situations where they realized the burden of maintaining daily life dominating the top ranks.
From these results, it can be seen that many students, through living alone, for the first time realize the immense support required to maintain the daily life they had previously taken for granted.
■In an unfamiliar kitchen, in a quiet room. The "greatness of mothers" understood only now.
Ahead of Mother's Day (May 10), the results of free responses collected for "What I want to tell my mother now that I live alone" revealed numerous messages of gratitude.
What emerged from the voices of university students who started living alone was that they had enjoyed it as a matter of course at home.