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.”
07:02
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.”
Xie’s loneliness touches on a particularly poignant part of Chinese society. The country is rapidly ageing, with 264 million residents, or 18.7 per cent of the whole population, being 60 years old or above last year. Many working-age adults find it necessary to leave home to move to cities to find better-paying work.
This creates a phenomenon where children and the elderly dominate rural areas. In this context, Xie’s loneliness is relatable to many people and reminds many Chinese of their own families.
About half of the elderly population are “empty nesters”, meaning their children do not live with them any more, the People’s Daily reported.
I feel so lonely that I don’t know how to continue living
“I feel sad for her. She speaks for the voices of many old people,” said a fan on Douyin.
Although she has become popular online, Xie said she does not care about fame or fortune, Xiaoxiang Morning Post reported.
“I have found fun in my life. Shooting videos makes me happy, and I will keep on doing it,” she told the newspaper.
Xie acknowledged the rough nature of her videos, which are never edited and often include a shaky camera. In one video, she said: “Please forgive the poor quality of these videos. There is no background music and I do not sing well. But I will still continue to sing.”
Another of her popular videos, with 2,300 likes, is a simple three-second clip of a black screen and the sound of snoring in the background.
“Granny is sleeping. How cute is she!?” commented one person.
