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the short dramas are made based on what the audience likes to watch. by grasping the audience's pleasure points, they can always create hits.

this is true for young people as well as for middle-aged and elderly people. familiar plots, differentiated ages, and short drama producers with extremely keen market sense have quietly created another new blue ocean.

please see:

an auntie who sells lunch boxes at a construction site is dating an air conditioner repairman. unexpectedly, he is a domineering president worth billions. the domineering president is not only considerate, but also helps her fight against her snobbish in-laws and daughter-in-law.

the mother was accused of being a beggar by her selfish youngest son and was nearly beaten to death at his wedding. the eldest son, who had been missing and had lost his memory for many years, suddenly appeared from nowhere and turned out to be a billionaire. he whipped his younger brother.

born into a prominent family, she was betrayed by her husband, her family fell into decline, and everyone pushed her down. however, she relied on her intelligence and kindness to fight back step by step and become the queen of business...

the above plots are respectively from short plays for middle-aged and elderly people, "flash marriage with a rich wife", "mother's honor depends on her son to get on the top of the list of top scholars", and "wealthy old wife's road to counterattack".

a report from iresearch consulting shows that in the micro-short drama market in 2024, users aged 40 to 59 will account for as much as 37.3%, and users aged 60 and above will account for 12.1%.

not only do the elderly account for a large proportion and have more time, they also have money. data consulting company questmobile once released "insights into the development of china's short video live e-commerce", which showed that users over 51 years old accounted for 18.9% of live streaming platforms such as douyin and kuaishou, and their spending power is considerable. users with monthly online spending power exceeding 2,000 yuan accounted for 28.8%.

looking at the short drama for middle-aged and elderly people, "flash marriage with a rich partner" was online for only 10 days, but the number of views on related platforms exceeded 400 million, and the number of topics on douyin exceeded 2.5 billion.

the reason behind the popularity of short dramas for middle-aged and elderly people is the choice of the market, which has also caused "worry" among some children: first, they are afraid that the middle-aged and elderly people will spend money without limit; second, they are afraid that they will become addicted to the virtual online world and even be deceived.

one netizen's comment was very interesting: "it's over, now my mom is going to look down on my dad!"

when we were young, we were "worried" by our parents, and when we grew up, we "worried" about our parents. the situation was reversed. behind the popularity of short dramas for middle-aged and elderly people is the projection of their psychology.

the main story lines of the short plays for middle-aged and elderly people are nothing more than these:

first, the overbearing president fell in love with me, who was down and out but kind-hearted. i had money and free time, was attentive at home but domineering outside, and filled the loneliness of middle-aged and elderly people in their intimate relationship with their spouses.

second, the child who was raised with great difficulty finally becomes a billionaire, filial and sensible, proud in front of others and considerate behind others, which satisfies the fantasy of middle-aged and elderly people that "they want their children to become successful";

third, after experiencing betrayal and being looked down upon, they relied on their own perseverance to counterattack and become wealthy (both men and women), and also found happy love, which satisfied the needs of middle-aged and elderly people for affirmation of their self-worth.

coupled with the conflicting plots such as dealing with the snobbish in-laws and the wicked daughter-in-law, the plain and down-to-earth lines, and the main theme of "good is rewarded with good"... it firmly grasps the middle-aged and elderly audiences.

the "dream-making" of the short drama is essentially the same as the health product salesman becoming a meticulous "godson or goddaughter", which accurately provides sufficient emotional value.

the elderly need to be taken care of. photo by guo xulei

according to census data, by 2025, the population of people aged 60 and above in my country is expected to reach 300 million, accounting for 21.4% of the total population. however, the attention and resources received by the elderly are far less than those of young people. the "white paper on mental health of the elderly in china in 2022" shows that as many as 63% of chinese elderly people often feel lonely, and even when they are in the crowd, 54% of them feel lonely and regretful. what's more, more than 25% of the elderly over 60 have had thoughts of suicide due to physical or other reasons.

this is a huge market. consumer products for the middle-aged and elderly, represented by short short plays, are like a handful of sweet candy, bringing short-term happiness to the elderly. this is also the tip of the iceberg of the elderly consumer market, indicating that the silver economy will be more prosperous.

behind the data are living individuals, our grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts... and even ourselves.

some young people also "sneer" at this. it is full of routines, vulgar and fake, and it only satisfies the immediate emotions of parents, but makes them so "addicted". where have their "wisdom of life" and "realistic pursuits" gone?

in fact, for many middle-aged and elderly people, the decline in physical strength and energy makes it difficult for them to work as hard as young people, and it is difficult for them to stick to the so-called long-termism. on the downhill road of life, they need more emotional comfort and immediate satisfaction.

after all, there is no essential difference between the "post-90s" "eating sugar" in the skit and the "90-year-olds" "dreaming" in the skit.

while we are discussing, joking, or even preventing our parents from paying for short plays for middle-aged and elderly people, we might as well skip the superficial financial considerations and pay more attention to the physiological changes and psychological needs of middle-aged and elderly people, care about their negative emotions such as anxiety, loneliness, inferiority, helplessness, and hopelessness as they get older, understand and support their healthy hobbies more openly, plan their old age life more seriously, and rationally support their "right to dream" within the scope of economic conditions.

why not start from now on, take time to meet with them, have a serious chat with them, and listen to their needs.

(according to anhui times wechat official account)