[Source]
In China, young people who lack familial love have found solace online through a middle-aged couple, dubbed volunteer “digital parents,” who create videos offering comfort and support.
Key points:
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The couple in ChinaJiang Xiuping and Pan Huqian, gained more than a million followers in Douyin in recent months for acting like caring parents.
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Her videos have resonated with many teenagers and young adults who feel neglected or unloved by their real families.
The details:
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In your videos, the couple shares everyday activities, such as shopping at the supermarket, and offers messages of comfort to their followers, whom they call “daughters and sons”. The videos simulate parental support, with encouraging conversations, surprise gifts and fake money transfers, attracting many to follow and interact in the comments.
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Followers, some as young as 12, often express gratitude for the care and guidance they receive, calling Jiang and Pan “Mom and Dad.” College student Xiaofu, who suffered domestic violencealso finds comfort in videos, which she says it provides classes and emotional support that she feels her own parents should have given her.
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The 50-year-old couple, from Shaanxi province, currently make money through advertising and e-commerce on Douyin. Despite their bubbly online personas, the couple faces challenges in real life, including financial difficulties with their wedding planning business, compounded by COVID-19. However, the couple continues to act as digital parents, meeting the emotional needs of their followers.
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“These kids call us ‘mom and dad’. I feel like we have more responsibility now,” Jiang said Rest of the world. “Their love warmed our hearts and we need to do our best to comfort them too.”
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Similar accounts like @Xiaolinmama and @Shiyueershiqiri offer housework advice and parenting stories, respectively. The popularity of “digital parents” reflects the disparity between urban middle-class and rural families in China, leaving many children feeling neglected due to a lack of resources and parental time. The country’s limitation mental health family-centered resources and culture then contribute to children’s high expectations of supporting their parents financially.
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