They flatter and flirt with single women for money – in China, virtual boyfriends offer intimacy on demand to a career-focused generation
- China’s one-child policy created a generation of self-confident women who have a home, and financial security, but lead isolating lives and are looking for love
- Some find it online, where they pay men to reassure, advise, and be intimate with them. ‘This is a new mode of womanhood that is unprecedented,’ academic says
Chinese teenager Robin spends hours online chatting to her man, who always has a sympathetic ear for her problems – as long as she’s willing to pay him.
The 19-year-old premedical student has spent more than 1,000 yuan (US$140) speaking to “virtual boyfriends”. These aren’t seedy sex-chat lines, but men who charge for friendly and flirty online communication, from wake-up calls to lengthy text exchanges and video conversations.
“If someone is willing to keep me company and chat, I’m pretty willing to spend money,” said Robin, who didn’t want to give her real name.
The option for intimacy on demand has gained popularity among China’s middle-income young women, who are often focused on careers and have no immediate plans to marry and start a family.
Shops selling virtual friends and partners can be found on Chinese messaging app WeChat or on e-commerce sites such as Taobao. (Taobao is run by Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post.) Several virtual boyfriends said most of their customers are single women in their twenties with disposable income.