Actress Leanne Liu would keep her television on for 24 hours, afraid of going out and inept at using technology, she says, before she participated in the reality show Summer Refuge that concluded on November 25, 2021.
After her husband died in an accident in 2011, Liu has been living alone in Shanghai. Her lifestyle, similar to many elderly ageing alone in China, triggered concern on social media.
China has more than 264 million people aged 60 and above, including 80.8 million in their 70s and 35.8 million older than 80, according to the seventh national population census.
“As the country is entering an ageing society, the TV show aims to call for the public to pay more attention to the issues and challenges facing the elderly and break ageist stereotypes. Their today will be our tomorrow,” a show representative says.
Under the guidance of the China National Committee on Ageing, the 10-episode show, which premiered on online video platform Bilibili on September 23, puts three people over 60 and people in their 20s together for a 21-day “social experiment” to see how the two generations get along. Two other seniors who appear on the show are Zhu Zengde, 89, a former businessman, and Wei Yongzheng, 81, a retired teacher.
For Liu, the show has helped her to step out of her comfort zone and unlock new experiences, “making her feel young again”.
“In the show, we do not want to overemphasise the stereotypes about ageing, but to represent the diversified, true and lovely lives of the seniors, which can be a reference, or even a guide, to the young people facing ageing in the future,” the show representative says.
“After the show, we hope the audience will pick up their phones and contact their parents or grandparents to tell them how much they love and miss them.”
As China is home to 284 million netizens aged 50 or older, as of June, accounting for 28 per cent of the country’s total netizen population, according to the China Internet Network Information Centre, it is no wonder that streaming platforms are highlighting senior citizens in entertainment shows.
Summer Refuge, a reality show, puts three people over 60 and people in their 20s together for a 21-day “social experiment” to see how the two generations get along
(PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
This month, Forget Me Not Farm will be aired on Tencent’s streaming platform focusing on seniors. It puts three celebrities and five people, aged 69 to 80, together to manage a farm in Chengdu, Sichuan province.
Video platforms and local and central TV stations have also strengthened coverage of seniors, who spend more time watching TV than younger generations. Last year, the average Chinese, aged over 65 spent about 288 minutes watching TV every day, the annual report on development of China’s media industry by Tsinghua University’s School of Journalism and Communication shows. The average time for all TV viewers in China was 132 minutes daily in 2020.
In June last year, China Central Television released Ode of Joy, a singing competition show featuring 32 choruses of senior citizens over the age of 60 who also told their stories behind the scenes.
In April, Wow! Mom, a 13-episode variety show was aired on Hunan Satellite TV, shining the spotlight on celebrities’ mothers, who are typically aged 50 and above. In the show, 20 mothers, accompanied by their daughters, have prepared for the selection of a supermodel training camp.
Besides the above genres, some dating TV shows for elderly people have gone viral on social media for the participants’ “interesting conversations” and practical demand of relationships.
“Good variety shows can dig into what older people really need and want and shed light on how to deal with the challenges they face,” Wen Weihua, professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, says.
Previously published on Chinadaily.com.cn
Source: Independent
