Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

In China, more and more seniors are surfing the internet - especially through smartphones. There are presently about 96 million elderly mobile web users in the country. Of these, more than 100,000 rely heavily on the internet. Some even spend almost all day online because they have a lonely life. Even if they don't live alone, they still often lack emotional support and care. Many things can be done to help these senior citizens who are addicted to the internet. First, they could be encouraged more to interact more often with real people. Sometimes even a simple chat or a walk with their neighbors and friends is enough. Second, the community they live need to plan more activities for them, including various outdoor activities, or even courses in the community college for the elderly. Last but not least, family members of these seniors should start to care more about their emotional needs, spend more quality time with them so that the elderly will feel happy and emotionally satisfied.