bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Jane Cai

Kelly Hui, a 26-year-old photographer, shares a 60 square metre flat in Shenzhen with a flatmate, but they seldom talk.
Her most constant companion is, instead, a virtual frog found in the Japanese smartphone game Tabikaeru: Travel Frog.
Even though there is no official Chinese version available yet, the game has been the top free simulation game on the mainland Apple App Store for months. The game has been downloaded more than 10 million times around the world in the three months since it was launched in November, according to developer Hit Point, with Chinese players accounting for 95 per cent of those downloads. 

The main protagonist is a frog that goes on adventures around Japan. Players collect clover that grows in the frog’s garden so they can buy supplies for the frog’s journeys.
In return, the frog sends players souvenirs and snapshots during its trips. Users cannot control when the frog chooses to go on its adventures.
There are 200 million of them and they’re richer than ever. So why aren’t China’s singles doing more for the economy?
“I hadn’t heard from it for three days, so when I received a postcard from the frog I burst into tears,” Hui said. “It is a dear friend to me.
“Also, many times, I feel it is me, being independent and doing whatever I like to do alone.” 
Hui represents a new type of Chinese consumer: well-educated, young and willing to spend – but spending alone.
The “empty nest youth” is an emerging theme in the Chinese economy, according to the first Economy of Loneliness report released in January by Momo, a dating application and operator of the mainland’s largest video streaming platform, and Xiaozhu, a home-sharing app similar to Airbnb. 
The report says such young people are “usually single”, “renting a flat” and “living in a city away from their family and relatives”. 
“The stress to survive and succeed in big cities exacerbates their feeling of loneliness, and they are seeking emotional outlets by embracing loneliness and consuming loneliness,” the report said. 

About 67 per cent of the more than 10,000 people younger than 47 surveyed by the institute last year said they watched television or movies to shed their loneliness; more than 49 per cent played smartphone games; 46 per cent went to a bar; 39 per cent went to a gym and nearly 25 per cent listened to music or sang karaoke.
While there are no clear estimates of the size of China’s “loneliness economy”, many businesses, from hotpot restaurants to entertainment equipment makers, are trying to profit from the lifestyle. 
Mini karaoke booths, tucked away in shopping malls, cinemas, airports and even subway stations, have mushroomed across Chinese cities in the past three years. The booths, usually equipped with an air conditioner, a couple of chairs and headsets, are similar to traditional karaoke bars, but in a smaller, more intimate environment. 
Scanning a QR code, twenty-something Zuo Yiran paid 25 yuan (US$4) via her mobile wallet to sing for 15 minutes in a mini karaoke in a corner of a supermarket in Beijing on a Sunday afternoon. 
The rise and rise of China’s modern-day yuppies, and what it means for consumption
“I just planned to buy some snacks,” she said. “Tempted by the mini karaoke, I sang eight songs and it made me feel less bored on this cold winter day. 
“It’s cool that you can enjoy yourself wholeheartedly and you don’t have to make conversation or endure others’ microphone obsessions. When you feel like sharing, you can record the songs you sang and send them to your friends through your smartphone.”
There are now at least 20,000 mini karaoke booths operating across the mainland, with the value of the market estimated at 3.18 billion yuan last year, up 93 per cent on 2016, according to iiMedia Research, a Guangzhou-based consulting firm. It predicts 120 per cent growth this year to 7 billion yuan. 
Xiabu Xiabu, a hotpot restaurant chain that offers “one person, one pot” outperformed many Hong Kong-listed traditional restaurant operators in the past year, seeing its share price triple.
Technology is making it easier for people to enjoy being alone, with shared gyms springing up in some residential communities in Beijing last year. People can run in the five square metre spaces, which are equipped with a treadmill, TV screen and an air purifier, while watching a video or listening to music, with the outside world shut out by a glass door. 

Mark Greeven, associate professor of innovation and entrepreneurship at Zhejiang University, said: “We may see a phenomenon, facilitated by technology, where young Chinese people, especially millennials, are looking for individual experiences and personalised services more than the previous generation; not unlike their peers in other countries.” 
Chinese consumers, often faced with long, tedious commutes, tiring jobs and competitive workplaces, found solace in entertainment technology which gave them ways of blowing off steam outside the traditional, relationship-driven society they were part of every day, Greeven said. 
“However, I’d argue that technology is facilitating loneliness rather than allowing Chinese consumers to embrace it,” he said. “There is plenty of evidence that youngsters would rather spend time on their smartphones than on playing with friends, dating, working and just hanging around. 
“I’m not against technology at all, it is one of the wonders of our society, but the slightly addictive nature of certain social networks and the fact that a handful of technology giants control those information streams does make me worry about the long-term societal effects.”
Are you still single? The annual question dreaded by China’s ‘leftover women’
Hu Xingdou, a political economist with Beijing Institute of Technology said: “The loneliness economy in China is expected to become bigger than Japan’s, even though loneliness is the norm there as the country has been suffering from a serious ageing problem for a long time amid an alienated interpersonal relationship culture.” 
In China, hundreds of millions of migrants had moved to work in cities amid rapid urbanisation. Intense competition meant they faced severe stresses in their pursuit of success, he said, and they also struggled under a sometimes unfair distribution system that featured rampant corruption and official-businessmen collusion. 
“Japanese people have faith in their employers, who they usually serve for their whole lifetime; Western people can work closely with various communities, clubs and charity groups,” Hu said. “While China suppresses the development of non-governmental organisations, Chinese people are destined to be lonelier than people elsewhere.” 


Shenzhen, China’s land-starved tech hub, making space by moving massive landfill

Why China’s consumers found the hype around plant-based meat hard to swallow

China’s AI boom fuels solopreneurs as 1-person businesses flourish in tough job market

7 Chinese industry bodies issue RWA tokenisation warning amid Beijing’s crackdown

China economy

Loneliness: the latest economic niche opening up in China

Jodie Zhou sings a song at a mini Karaoke box in a shopping centre in Beijing. Photo: Simon Song

Jodie Zhou sings a song at a mini Karaoke box in a shopping mall in Beijing on Feb. 08, 2018. The "economy of loneliness" is emerging in Chinese cities, and many businesses are trying to profit from this social and demographic trend. 08FEB18 SCMP/Simon Song

A smart phone screen displays the mobile game Tabikaeu: Travel Frog, a Japanese game very popular in China in Beijing on Feb. 07 evening. . The "economy of loneliness" is emerging in Chinese cities, and many businesses are trying to profit from this social and demographic trend. 08FEB18 SCMP/Simon Song

There are 200 million of them and they’re richer than ever. So why aren’t China’s singles doing more for the economy?

China’s swelling ranks of singletons has been spurred by economic development and a profound change in people’s perceptions of remaining unattached Photo: Reuters

epa06080614 A Chinese couple has their pre-wedding photos taken on a street in Beijing, China, 11 July 2017. The current world population of 7.6 billion is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100, according to a United Nations report published on 21 June 2017. China with 1.4 billion inhabitants is the most populous country in the world. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) celebrates World Population Day on 11 July, which highlights how family planning can empower people and help developing nations. EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY

News

China

Business

China Business

Economy

China Economy

Young people in big cities ‘seeking emotional outlets by embracing loneliness and consuming loneliness’, report finds


Meet a new type of Chinese consumer: well-educated, young and willing to spend. But spending alone.
