New Delhi: A new app called Are You Dead? has gone viral in China as a check-in tool for people living alone. It allows users to signal that they are safe by tapping a large green button every two days. And, in case there is no response, the app automatically alerts the user’s friends or family listed as emergency contacts.
The app’s sudden popularity has pushed it to the top of the Apple App Store’s paid charts, making it the most downloaded paid app in China.
And unsurprisingly, there are three Gen Z entrepreneurs behind it. The app, called ‘Sile Me’ in Chinese, was launched last May but initially failed to gain much traction. In recent weeks, however, downloads by people living alone in China’s cities have gone up. It is priced at 8 yuan (about Rs 103).
The rise of this app is seen as a response to growing urban loneliness in a world that is increasingly embracing solo-living. While it may be one of the first apps designed as a daily check-in tool, it is not the first digital attempt to address urban isolation. Replika, for instance, positions itself as an AI companion for users seeking an empathetic friend. In 2016, Bumble launched its BFF feature for people looking to make friends in a new city. Another app, Wyzr, is an activity-based platform for people aged over 30 to meet new people — yet another effort to counter urban loneliness.
A social demography expert at the National University of Singapore described the Are You Dead? app as the need of the hour. Speaking to the Financial Times, Wei-Jun Jean Yeung said declining fertility, rising life expectancy, fewer marriages, and increasing divorce rates are all contributing to the growth of one-person households. “The concern is real”.
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Rise in solo-living
The app’s popularity was also reflected on social media, with Chinese users making videos about it to encourage people living alone to download the app.
China’s English-language newspaper Global Times reported that all three co-founders of the app were born after 1995 and described their company as a small, independent startup.
Calling it a “lightweight safety tool for solo dwellers”, the founders acknowledged the sudden popularity, saying, “We feel honored and deeply grateful to receive such widespread attention.”
However, with popularity also comes criticism. Many users, the newspaper reported, criticized the app’s name and suggested an alternative: “Huozheme (Are You Alive?)”. For many, the name, Sile Me, presented a grim image, reinforcing the negative perceptions associated with living alone.
As per the report, China’s one-person household population is rising. And it is predicted that by 2030, the country may have up to 200 million single-person households — with a solo-living rate exceeding 30 per cent.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)