Wang Qiao Yao, 88, is a influencer who works as a “grandfather of the king” on the Chinese version of Instagram Xiaohongsu. He usually enjoys milk tea mixed with milk and tea, and posted this daily life on Xiaohongsu at his granddaughter’s recommendation, which received great attention as the “oldest Internet mukbanger.” Since then, he has currently 37,000 followers through steady activities. In an interview, he said, “I’ve made a lot of friends beyond my age difference,” and “I feel like I’m back from 88 to 18.”
The number of users aged 60 or older in Xiaohongsu, China, has exceeded 30 million. China is aging fast enough to be expected to enter an ultra-aging society around 2035, and in line with this, social media user groups are also experiencing changes in their perception. As the weight of SNS, which was considered only the exclusive property of young people, gradually shifted to the elderly, the Chinese SNS industry is competing to secure users by launching elderly-friendly services. According to China’s Feng Pai Shimbun on the 7th, Xiaohongsu announced the day before that the number of monthly active users aged 60 or older exceeded 30 million as of the end of last year. Xiaohongsu said that the number of elderly creators has tripled over the past two years, and their posts have accumulated more than 100 million. Van Wetan, a magazine published by the state-run Xinhua News Agency, said, “As the number of elderly users of Xiaohongsu gradually increases and more posts record their lives and experiences, Xiaohongsu seems to have changed to La Hongsu.”
On the same day, Xiaohongsu released an “elderly-friendly usage guide” in response to such user changes. On a picture the same size as a real smartphone, details are shown on how to access Xiaohongsu on a smartphone in large letters, how to sympathize with and comment on posts, and how to share videos and photos. Wang Qiao-Yao, who participated in the production of the guidebook, said, “This guide will help more elderly friends use Xiaohongsu. I want to share my enjoyment.”
As such, the Chinese social media industry is eager to expand elderly-friendly services. WeChat, a Chinese national messenger, operates a “Consideration Mode,” which changes to a larger font size, clearer color, and larger button. It also includes a text message reading function and a simple login function. Chinese short-form platform Kwai Shui Wau also released “Adult Mode” late last year. Again, it is characterized by the large font size, simplified icon, audio effect, and screen click response range that are optimized for the elderly.
Analysts say that this is a move in line with the society of the elderly. As of the end of 2023, China’s population aged 60 or older stood at 296.97 million, accounting for 21.1 percent of the total population, and 216.76 million people aged 65 or older, accounting for 15.4 percent. It is estimated that China’s population aged 60 or older will exceed 400 million by 2035, entering a serious aging stage. As such, the number of senior citizens who use SNS is also increasing. According to market research firm Quest Mobile, the monthly active users of mobile Internet aged 50 or older stood at 329 million as of September last year. They used mobile Internet for an average of 129 hours per month, of which 35.1 percent spent the most time on short forms. Messenger (25.2 percent), portal (11.3 percent), and e-commerce (6.7 percent) followed.
In the Chinese SNS industry, it is predicted that the development of elderly-friendly services will emerge as a major task. “The elderly still face many difficulties when using SNS, such as complex screens, overloading of information, and leakage of personal information. How to understand the silver economy and better solve these problems will be at the core of the direction of continuous improvement of SNS,” the Korean daily said.
SOPHIA KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL