BEIJING, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- With his smartphone camera on, an elderly resident surnamed Liu, who is now nearly 70, filmed a five-minute clip at his home in the coastal city of Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, sharing his homemade seafood feast as usual.
When Liu retired from his job at a food factory in 2017, he found himself adrift, grappling with a profound sense of loss in the quiet days that followed. Encouraged by his son, the senior decided to try social media.
As a true foodie passionate about cooking and tasting regional cuisines, Liu began posting culinary videos online. So far, he has amassed over 5 million followers on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.
"I never expected so many people to be interested in an old guy like me. I'm so inspired by what they said," he said. "That really gives me the confidence to keep making these videos."
Like Liu, a growing number of Chinese seniors are jumping into the digital world. By June 2025, the number of senior users of the internet in China had reached 161 million, covering over half of the country's elderly population, according to figures released by the China Internet Network Information Center.
Instead of just browsing, the elderly are stepping into the spotlight as content creators, actively posting and sharing their lives on social media. From yellowed photos telling stories of the past to hobbies rediscovered in retirement, digital platforms have offered Chinese elders a brand-new way to express themselves and pursue their dreams.
RedNote (Xiaohongshu), a lifestyle-sharing platform deemed as a "gathering place for young people," is becoming a "new continent" for older users in China.
By the end of 2024, the number of monthly active users aged 60 and above on RedNote had exceeded 30 million, while the number of its elderly content creators tripled in the past two years, with a total of over 100 million notes published.
Notably, the silver-haired group is increasingly popular on social media platforms, particularly among young Chinese. On Douyin, the follower counts of silver-haired influencers have reached up to 34 million, and the number of posts under the "Grandpa and Grandma" topic has surpassed 10 billion.
For 27-year-old Hu Yihang, checking for Liu's latest videos on Douyin has become a routine before bed. "There's something so relatable about Liu. Every time I watch these videos, he reminds me of my own grandpa," he said.
China is home to the world's largest elderly population, with more than 320 million people aged 60 and above by the end of 2025, accounting for over one-fifth of its total population. The Chinese government is stepping up to adapt to an aging population, striving to provide better services for its elderly.
In 2024, the General Office of the State Council issued guidelines to develop the silver economy and improve seniors' well-being. The guidelines emphasize the importance of enriching seniors' cultural and sports activities and fostering the development of content industries tailored to seniors, including literature, radio, film, television, music, short video, and other media.
"China must actively respond to population aging and refine the policies and mechanisms for coordinating the development of elderly care programs and industries," the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China noted in its recommendations for the formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national economic and social development.
In recent years, various elderly training courses covering a wide range of areas, such as using smartphones, shopping online, and filming and editing short videos, have been offered by public institutions across China, lowering digital barriers for Chinese seniors to embrace the digital world.
Meanwhile, there are also supportive measures in the private sector. In 2024, RedNote invested 3.4 billion yuan (about 490 million U.S. dollars) to launch an initiative to introduce senior-friendly updates, including enlarged fonts and simplified interactions.
"Elderly users aren't resistant to new technology -- they just need digital designs that better suit their needs," a RedNote product manager said, adding that the platform's optimisations for old people have directly contributed to a rise in elderly creators.
In addition, the trend of Chinese seniors flocking to social media has emerged alongside a broader shift in perceptions of aging in China.
Surveys conducted by Renmin University of China in 2014 and 2020 found that Chinese seniors are becoming increasingly positive toward getting old. In 2014, over 75 percent of elderly respondents strongly or somewhat agreed that they were old, but in 2020, this proportion fell to 47 percent.
Liu, the foodie influencer in Dalian, is delighted to see how his social media adventure cheers up his whole family. His son and daughter-in-law help shoot and produce short videos, and his wife, who is also retired, appears as the lead in their short videos.
"Growing old in years doesn't mean growing old in spirit. Keeping a sense of curiosity towards life helps me stay positive and energetic, and makes my retirement more fulfilling and vibrant," Liu shared online, offering his take on staying young. ■
