China’s new No. 1 paid app poses a simple question to users that speaks to deeper social concerns.
Are You Dead? has gone viral in recent days as people young and old who live alone have embraced the tool as an effective way to check in with loved ones. China is set to have 200 million one-person households by the end of the decade, according to state media: Fertility rates are dropping, marriages are declining, and life expectancy is lengthening.
Young people in particular are facing a worsening job and social landscape, a Chinese business outlet wrote, and the app’s popularity shows that they “crave a signal of being seen and understood, a warm embrace from society.”
