A new service industry is emerging in China in which people hire themselves out to accompany older people, a trend being described as the country’s “loneliness economy”.
The arrangement involves individuals providing companionship to elderly customers who may otherwise lack regular company. The people offering the service are referred to as “temporary children”, reflecting the role they perform for those seeking support and social contact.
The development highlights the growth of services aimed at people experiencing loneliness in China. The supplied report does not provide details of the industry’s size, the fees involved or the locations where the services are being offered.
No further information is available in the supplied material about the people involved, the reasons customers seek these arrangements or any official response. The latest known position is that the companionship sector is being recognised as a developing part of China’s so-called loneliness economy.
