Lonely granny becomes internet star for her poignant message about treatment of elderly in China
- The woman is an empty nester, and her kids live far away
- She said sometimes she is so lonely she does not “know how to continue living”
An elderly woman in central China turned on her phone camera and pointed it to herself. “Good morning, everybody! I live by myself, and I am very lonely. I am 80 years old and, because I am still able to talk, I spend my lonely days making short videos.”
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China tackles challenges posed by its ageing population
“I feel so lonely that I don’t know how to continue living,” said Xie, whose husband died a decade ago, in the video clip. “My daughter lives in the United States. My son lives in Guangzhou. I have eight grandsons, but they all live far away from me.
“All of them live in other places because they need to work and need to support their own family. They cannot quit their jobs to accompany me every day. I understand that,” she said.
In response, her audience lent a sympathetic ear. “Granny, you can chat with us. We are all accompanying you,” said one person on Douyin.
Another person wrote, “I hope Granny can feel life’s joy and bustle through the internet.”