'Are You Dead?': China creates app to check on senior citizens and single dwellers

A mobile app in China has been garnering a lot of attention and criticised at the same time. ‘Sileme’, which literally translates to ‘are you dead’ in Mandarin, is an app that keeps a check on single dwellers. In a country where the number of couples heading towards marriage is declining, the number of people choosing to be single is comparatively high. This app also caters to elderly empty-nesters.

How does it work?

It is a paid app and not a free one, so one has to register and enter relevant details. A user is expected to enter details of an emergency contact person. If a user fails to log into the app, it sounds an alarm to the contact, who may be a relative or close friend.

"If you haven't checked in for two days, the system will send an email to your emergency contact," a version available internationally tells users, according to news agency AFP. On the streets of Beijing on Tuesday, some of the app's target market were dubious. Yaya Song, a 27-year-old IT worker who lives alone, said she was intrigued but that it cost too much.

“If it were free, I'd download it to try out -- even charging one yuan ($0.14) would be reasonable for a trial -- but eight yuan ($1.15) feels a bit expensive.” If the worst happened, employed people's workplaces would generally realise something was wrong before family and friends, she said, adding that the app's name "feels a bit too violent". Student Huang Zixuan agreed.

"If I wanted my grandparents to download this app, I probably wouldn't be able to bring myself to say the name," the 20-year-old said.

In 2024, people who lived alone accounted for around one-fifth of all Chinese households, compared to 15 percent a decade earlier, official data shows. "I guess as we reach middle age, everyone starts to worry about their own affairs after death," said 36-year-old office worker Sasa Wang.

On Saturday, the former editor of state-backed tabloid Global Times, Hu Xijin, praised the app's potential, especially for the elderly. He suggested changing its name to "Are you alive?"

"This way it will give elderly people who use it more psychological comfort," he wrote on social media. The app's account responded on social media that it would "seriously look into and consider" changing the name. But others begged them to keep it. "It's good to face the issue of death," the top-liked comment read.