Loneliness and dearth of social activities resulting in rising levels of dependency. Li Lei reports.

Seniors take part in a training session about smartphone photography at a community in Beijing's Chaoyang district in March. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

A 70-year-old man left an electric kettle to boil dry, almost burning down his kitchen. A 60-something husband has stopped taking after-supper walks, much to his wife's displeasure. A leading hospital has reported a surge in older patients with retinal hemorrhage.

These isolated incidents shared the same cause: excessive screen time.

In recent years, the online reach of China's retirees has expanded dramatically, with around 96 million older, active mobile internet surfers nationwide.

Pan Shufan from Chifeng, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, is one of these "silver surfers". The 72-year-old has been using the internet for more than a decade. Now though, she uses it almost all day long, except when cooking or sleeping.

"I am not a big fan of 'square dancing'," the retired food-processing plant worker said, referring to a popular communal activity for elderly Chinese. "So, when I am done cooking, I take time to read novels online and watch short videos."

Her internet use soared at the height of the coronavirus outbreak last year, when sweeping stay-at-home orders prevented her regular mahjong sessions with friends.

Pan's cyberspace expedition started with the gift of a smartphone from her children. Initially, she only used it to make calls. Later, she got a WeChat account. Then, she joined a family chat group.

She thought it was great fun. On traditional holidays, the chat group－with relatives spread across the country－turned into a major source of entertainment.

Retirees in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, learn to use smartphones in June. (ZHOU GUKAI / FOR CHINA DAILY)

Cheap entertainment

One activity Pan relishes is grabbing digital "red envelopes", packets of digital cash that other members send via the group as a test of speed－latecomers never get the money－and a type of inexpensive game.

She also prizes the immediacy of WeChat messages. Unlike phone calls, which can cause interruptions and require good timing, Pan can use the social media platform to make inquiries about relatives' vacation plans, their whereabouts and wellbeing whenever she feels like it.

It is so convenient that she feels phone calls have almost been made redundant by the constant stream of texts or voice messages. It is also the place where Pan consumes celebrity gossip and learns trendy words, which she uses to bond with her grandchildren.

"The only downside is that the smartphone strains my eyes," she said.

Excessive surfing online can have other deleterious health affects, such as damage to the disks in the neck and a heightened risk of stroke (as a result of long periods of inactivity), experts said.

China now has much better internet access than when it joined the worldwide web in 1994, with internet coverage standing at about 70 percent nationally, or even 80 percent in some urban areas.

Moreover, a sweeping campaign to make cyberspace more accessible to seniors has gained momentum since last year. As part of the drive, developers have been ordered to streamline user interfaces and remove misleading ads, thereby bolstering digital inclusivity for less tech-savvy seniors.

As a result of the reforms, many older people can now hail taxis or return unwanted or faulty goods to e-retailers with fewer clicks on the screen, meaning greater independence from their children.

Data from the latest census, released in May, show more than 260 million, or 18.7 percent, of Chinese are age 60 or older.

"Seniors now constitute an important chunk of the online community," Du Peng, a demographer in Beijing who focuses on age-related policymaking, told China Central Television in an interview.

The developments have had an unintended side effect: addiction. A recent report by Qutoutiao, a news aggregating app, said it has 1 million users age 60 and older, and 12,000 of them spend six hours or more on the platform every day.

Moreover, the app estimates that 100,000 older netizens nationwide are addicted to the internet.

Ruan Yaqing, a senior social media influencer in Beijing, and her assistant use a cellphone to check a short video for Ruan's channel in April. (PHOTO / AFP)

Changing demographics

The figures are intertwined with shifting family patterns in China. The average size of families is decreasing as a result of flagging fertility, better housing supply and increased migration nationwide.

About 25 percent of Chinese－mostly young adults－are classified as migrants, the census data showed. Experts say the statistics mean more older people are living apart from their working children. These "empty nesters" are estimated to number 120 million.

Wei Junping, a registered psychologist in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, said loneliness is fueling internet addiction among seniors. She told Yinchuan Evening News that retirees are prone to "spiritual emptiness" and spend long hours on social media, chatting, sharing and exploring. "Their children really need to visit them more," she said.

They are also increasingly in the sights of internet fraudsters or "digital exploitation" scammers.

Knowing that many seniors can be lured by small advantages, some short-video apps offer red envelopes to those who use their services for long periods to burnish their user data. To earn the money, many seniors leave videos playing while they cook.

The internet can also be a hotbed of misinformation. Media reports say that many adult children are offended and concerned about the things their parents post on social media platforms, ranging from distorted historical facts to conspiracy theories.

Even so, the internet is still embraced by many as a new way to shine and connect.

Zhang Maize, who lives with his wife and pet dog in Wuhu, Anhui province, said he cannot live without his smartphone. The 76-year-old loves online payment systems, breaking news notifications, live-streams of major sports events and chatting with faraway friends.

"The smartphone is much better than television, radio or newspapers," he said, but he stressed that he does not abuse the device.

In summer, the former State-owned hotel employee gets up at 5 am to walk his dog. After, he has breakfast, reads the newspapers and checks the latest bulletins on his phone. Then, he takes a nap and has a walk outside, fully occupying himself until it is time for bed.

"My smartphone allows me to talk to people far away," he said. "I have many memorable photos in my album, and I have posted many articles and memoirs. It feels good to see and read them."

Wang Luxi and Sun Fengyi contributed to this story.

Contact the writer at lilei@chinadaily.com.cn