'Are you dead?' The most downloaded app among Chinese people living alone
An app that suddenly shot to the top of the download charts has lifted the veil on the anxiety of many Chinese people, not just the elderly, who find themselves living alone in large cities. If no one responds within 48 hours, their smartphone sends a notification to a contact. By 2030, China will have 200 million single-person households.
Milan (AsiaNews/Agencies) – A new app is now available that lets people confirm that they are alive with a single click. If no such confirmation is received within 48 hours, the app sends a notification to a designated contact.
This is how Sileme works, a basic Chinese app that has recently hit the headlines for the high volume of downloads on mobile phones in China, highlighting the plight of millions of Chinese, and not only senior citizens, who live alone in large cities.
The app's Chinese name is a play on the name of the most popular food delivery app: Ele.me, meaning "Are you hungry?" In Chinese, Sileme sounds very similar to the food delivery app, but means “Are you dead?”
Its decidedly blunt name is sparking controversy among some Chinese netizens as they find it too unpleasant and would like it renamed Huo-zhe-me ("Are you alive?").
But as the semi-official English-language newspaper Global Times notes, most reviews of the app are positive, described as useful not only for the elderly, but also for many young adults who live alone and face certain risks.
Among the suggestions for improvement are the addition of heart rate monitoring and automatic alarm detection systems.
Originally launched as a free app, it is now behind a paywall, albeit at the reasonable price of 8 yuan (US$ 1.15). It is also available on the iOS platform for Apple phones outside China under the name Demumu.
Today it trended as one of the top two apps most downloaded in the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and among the top four in Australia and Spain in the paid utility app category, likely driven by Chinese users living abroad.
This success has surprised the developers, three men under 30 in Henan Province who last March launched a small business called Yuejing (Zhengzhou) Technical Services Co., with a registered capital of just 100,000 yuan (US$ 14,350).
The trio were the first to be surprised by the app’s success. “We feel honored and deeply grateful to receive such widespread attention,” the team said in a statement.
Are You Dead? describes itself as a “safety company companion… whether you’re a solo office worker, a student living away from home, or anyone choosing a solitary lifestyle”.
According to research by real estate institutions cited by the Global Times, by 2030, China could have up to 200 million single-person households, with a rate of living alone exceeding 30 per cent.
This segment of the Chinese population no longer includes just older people but also young adults. The greatest danger for this group is that sudden illnesses or accidents may go unnoticed.
These concerns are far from unfounded. Chinese media regularly report cases of people living alone who died in their flats, only to be discovered weeks or even months later, fuelling public anxiety about social isolation.
The app thus meets an urgent need, and its very "direct" name immediately highlights the necessity for greater care for those who live alone.
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09/03/2005
