China divorce: ‘he just played with his phone’ – mobile addiction causing up to 30% of failed marriages, say counsellors

China’s divorce rate rose from two cases per 1,000 people in 2010 to 3.4 per 1,000 in 2019, before dropping to 3.1 per 1,000 people in 2020. However, public opinion is divided on how significant a factor mobile phone use is in causing divorces. — SCMP

Mobile phone addiction is responsible for up to 30% of failed marriages in China, claim some marriage counsellors.

“Playing with mobile phones has occupied a great deal of people’s time which should be used to communicate with partners, perform household duties or educate kids. But spending too much time on phones has led to many couples experiencing conflict,” Kang Lanying, a senior marital conflict mediator in Wuhan, Hubei province, central China, told the Yangtze Daily.