The Silver Economy and China’s Internet-addicted Elderly

China increasingly faces the pressures of an aging population. By the end of 2024, people aged 60 and above accounted for 22.0 percent of China’s total population, while those aged 65 and above made up 15.6 percent. By 2050, based on the current birthrate, over a third of China’s population will be over the age of 60.

As China ages, the concept of the “silver economy” has been circulated in official discourse to encompass the full range of economic activities aimed at serving elderly populations, as well as preparing for aging during earlier life stages.

According to official estimates, China’s silver economy currently stands at approximately 7 trillion yuan (around $1 trillion), accounting for about 6 percent of GDP. Sectors such as eldercare services, senior-oriented consumer goods, financial products, healthcare, and cultural tourism are experiencing explosive growth. By 2035, the size of the silver economy is projected to reach 30 trillion yuan, potentially accounting for 10 percent of GDP.

On the policy front, both the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee and the State Council have introduced dedicated plans to develop the silver economy, such as the National Medium- and Long-Term Plan for Actively Responding to Population Aging and the 14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Aging Services and Elderly Care Systems. More recently, in January 2024, the General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on Developing the Silver Economy to Enhance Elderly Well-being, outlining a systematic deployment of 26 measures across four key areas aimed at optimizing the business environment and expanding the scale of the silver economy. The landmark policy signaled a comprehensive national effort not only to address the country’s rapidly aging population, but to transform the demographic reality into an opportunity to diversify the Chinese economy.

At a State Council press briefing in 2025, officials from four departments jointly laid out the government’s vision, priorities, and implementation roadmap for the silver economy. People’s Daily in March 2025 further dedicated a whole page to the topic, regurgitating the previous policy directions. Given People’s Daily role as the official mouthpiece of the CCP, this article provided a clear nudge for provincial and local level governments to follow through.

The silver economy conventionally concentrates on basic sectors like caregiving, dining, and health services. However, the consumption power of over 250 million elderly people is expected to be influential beyond traditional sectors. The newly released seven priority industries for the silver economy thus encompass more: consumer goods, smart health and eldercare technologies, rehabilitation and assistive devices, anti-aging services, financial products for retirement, elderly-friendly tourism, and age-adaptive social infrastructure.

Notably, the digital sector is a definite strength of the Chinese silver economy. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, one of the four ministries that jointly released the roadmap, released two national eldercare product catalogs containing 631 products in total, including smart beds, monitoring tools, smart home devices, and health food. The ministry also emphasized the smart eldercare industry and the need to adapt smartphones and TVs for older users. The expansive vision of the silver economy demonstrates China’s desire to leverage its aging population as the next growth opportunity, if all goes as planned.

Thanks to the government’s emphasis, the concept of the “silver economy” is already widely recognized by private firms. Alibaba declared 2021 as a “key year of internal adjustments” to cater to the silver economy, in response to China’s 14th Five Year Plan. Taobao has over 400 millions of users over the age of 50, and it works with several sociological research institutes that target the elderly to improve its digital platform.

A survey jointly released by Baidu and JD.com showed that “smart technology” as a search term is most used by two groups: Gen Z and the elderly. Affordable smartphones failed to attract Millennials, but instead ended up in the hands of people born in the 1960s. Huawei, Xiaomi, and OPPO phones were top “elderly friendly” products, according to a survey conducted by China Telecom in 2022.

Much of the consumer research being done takes Japan as a model, as the country has gone through population aging gracefully. However, China’s digital ecology and entrenchment currently seems to be in a league of its own. Whereas other economies emphasize age-based digital divides, in China, the elderly are one of the biggest user bases of the internet. They are especially keen on watching (and purchasing merchandise through) short videos and livestreams on Chinese platforms such as Douyin (Chinese TikTok) and Kuaishou.

According to QuestMobile, Chinese seniors now average 129 hours per month online, with short video content claiming over a third of that time. Internet-based micro-dramas and livestreams, aided by algorithms and the spread of smartphones, are replacing traditional television as the main leisure outlet for Chinese elderly. In 2025, internet-addicted elders emerged as a new social problem, brought to the fore even by state media like Xinhua. Several government agencies also worry about cybersecurity issues that target this vulnerable population.

As the silver economy matures, the Chinese government and private sector must now reckon with a new reality: older adults are digitally literate and economically potent, but increasingly exposed. In the race to turn longevity into economic growth, the challenge will be balancing empowerment with care.