the essential
The phenomenon of “digital parents” has millions of views on the Chinese social network Douyin – and has its global counterpart on the Reddit platform.
“Thanks to you, I know what it is to have a mother”, “My father died last year, I have the impression of finding him in you”, “I have the impression of “having received a hug from my parents”… These statements are those of young Chinese fans of videos of a very particular genre, where couples play the role of fictitious parents for their audience. These are addressed directly to. the camera, while the viewer finds himself placed in the role of the child, recipient of signs of affection and comfort addressed to him – to him and to many others. And it’s a hit: on the Chinese social network. Douyin (equivalent to Tik Tok), “digital parents” have millions of views. France Inter deciphered the phenomenon in its program Veille Sanitaire.
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“We are very proud of you”
Among the most popular “digital parenting” accounts on the Chinese social network Douyin, “Sharing daily moments with our daughter”. The account is followed by more than 1 million people, who touch on the illusion of being considered by loving parents – acting. Pan and Jiang, two 50-year-old Chinese men, offer videos in which they address the camera as if it were their offspring. The stagings are as multiple as they are elaborate. In one of them, they are driving on the road to vacation and turn to the back seat to speak to the camera as if it were their child.
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In another video, they speak directly to the camera, telling their offspring that they are proud of them. In a third scenario, the couple pretends to find their offspring, who have gone to study in another city. They take the viewer for a walk, share a family dinner with them, offer them gifts… Behind the camera, a third thief films them in order to give the simulation more credibility.
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Digital parents, a symptom of family emotional deficiency
These “digital parents” do not act out of pure charity: their videos are sponsored by brands and provide them with income from each viewing. It is indeed an unsuspected windfall, which exploits the distress of young Chinese people in need of parental affection. And they are many.
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According to Manon Mariani, a journalist for France Inter, “many children are left by their parents” in China. “They migrate to the big cities to find work, and the children are left in the countryside with their grandparents.” And to conclude: “Family relationships are also harder there. A UNICEF report shows this: 26% of Chinese children under 18 suffer from parental neglect.”
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Solitude, a business? Obviously. And China is not the only one to exhibit this type of abuse. On the Reddit exchange site, forums called “Mom and Dad for a minute” are flourishing where young people, sometimes minors, seek advice from adults – at the risk of finding themselves exposed to people with malicious intent.
