Media and digital migration researcher Yongjian Li (Junior lecturer at Department of Media and Communication at ESHCC), shares insights and findings regarding Chinese older people's utilisation of Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, in a feature for Wired. These insights and findings were based on his recent review of dr. Koen Leurs' book Digital Migration in New Media and Society.
More eldery people are hooked on Douyin due to the platform affordances
A growing cohort of elderly people has moved away from television and gravitated to Douyin, China's most popular short-form video app. There are 267 million people aged over 60 in China, according to official statistics, of which a great deal spends their time on Douyin. While China's government has tried to limit young people's use of Douyin, as they are worried about its addictive nature, many of the app's habitual users are their parents or even their grandparents.
Many Chinese older people are picking up this technology with willingness to try out new things or to adapt to the post-cash and post-Covid society. Due to its affordance, Douyin plays multiple roles to elderly users: a type of entertainment, a source of information and news, a shopping platform, a tool for place-making and a vault for nostalgia.
Read Yongjian's entire article here.
Intersection of ageing and mobility within the context of digital migration
Yongjian’s contribution to Wired was based on his recent research focusing on ageing mobility in the context of digital migration, about which he recently published a book review in New Media and Society. In this book review, he argues that in the current digital age, older individuals are increasingly engaging with technology and participating in digital migration processes. A comprehensive examination of older individuals affected by digital migration and digital media, is crucial for scholarly understanding and practical policymaking.
- Researcher