How virtual ‘cat sniffing’ is comforting China's lonely youth?

[photo: from dfic.cn]

Many young people in China are finding companions online.

But that doesn't mean they're human. Or real.

Raising virtual cats is a burgeoning part of China's growing pet industry that heavily focuses on China's "empty nest youth" - or unmarried people living alone in China's major cities.

The online phenomenon, also known as "cloud cats," began with cat owners sharing photos and videos of their pets on social media only to amass huge followings.

Sina Weibo account "huiyizhuanyongxiaomajia," which posts videos and photos of a small British shorthair, has more than 30 million followers.

Most fans identify as "cat sniffers" - or people who obsessively check in multiple times a day on social media cats they have come to see as their own.

Cloud cat popularity has since spilled over into cat sim apps and video games. One such app has reported $7.9 million in virtual cats sales, according to official data.

Empty nest youth make up a large portion of these users, industry data shows.

According to a 2016 pet industry white paper, around 73 percent of the surveyed 6 million owners of pet owners are between 18 and 39 years old. More than 70 percent of them are women.

[The audio clip is from Studio+, produced by CRI] 
(News source: Global Times)