In China, a unique community has emerged: a group of mothers and grandmothers who have turned to livestreaming in search of financial independence and/or personal fulfillment. This project, set in China, explores the intricate and often overlooked world of a 74-year-old Chinese momfluencer who is retired and living in Southern China. She divorced in her 60s, and her only child is now living and working abroad. Since the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns, she has spent a lot of time learning how to use social media to share her life—finding happiness and a sense of community through self-expression online. Unlike influencers who focus on promoting products, she engages followers by sharing her extensive hobby experiences. This endeavour requires personal commitment and carries its own challenges, such as adapting to new technology and the modesty of financial returns. She enjoys the digital likes and attention, flowers and applause, and care and empathy from the virtual world. Her loneliness is real, but so is her optimism, her courage, and the subtle humour she uses to cope with it.
The project features six carefully chosen photographs from hundreds, each capturing a scene that reflects both the polished, on-camera persona of this elderly momfluencer, and glimpses into her behind-the-scenes life. The locations include a commercial karaoke room, a neighbourhood outdoor activity centre, her living room, her writing studio, and two different city parks. These places are where she engages in her “solo” hobbies—singing, drumming, tai chi, sword dancing, and writing—and interacts with her online community, extending her presence beyond the physical world.
The photographs are unembellished, with the appeal of a casual glance from a passerby, as if indifferent to her actions. They portray an elderly mother living alone, unable to find much attention in the real world and turning to a virtual space that promises emotional connections of a different kind. They convey two kinds of dialogue: the first is the visible interaction between the momfluencer and her streaming equipment, highlighting how she adapts to new technology and explores the ways this technology allows her to create and manipulate her virtual presence. The second, more subtle dialogue, exists between her and her online community. This shift towards a virtual audience suggests a turning away from physical reality, creating a space for viewers to question the authenticity of an elderly momfluencer portrayed on social media and wonder about her relationship with the real world.
This project highlights the struggles faced by elderly women, particularly within social and technological landscapes that are rapidly changing. It captures the complex reality of aging in China amid societal and personal constraints, rapid tech development, and shifting social structures. Ultimately, it raises global questions about what it means to grow older while living physically alone as an empty nester, in a world undergoing profound transformation.