Silver surfers: How China's ‘granfluencers’ steal spotlight, taking over social media

China is experiencing a surge in “granfluencers,” senior social media creators, driven by a significant rise in internet use among the elderly, aged 60 and older. -- Photo: SCMP composite/RedNote

BEIJING (SCMP): China is experiencing an extraordinary rise in “granfluencers,” or senior influencers, since 2019, as its growing ageing population embraces the online community.

Major social media platforms in mainland China have seen a rapid increase in senior users in recent years. RedNote reported over 30 million active users aged 60 and older by 2024, a remarkable threefold increase in just two years. Collectively, these seniors contributed over 100 million posts to the platform.