Understanding Older Adults' Experiences of Support, Concerns, and Risks from Kinship-Role AI-Generated Influencers

TL;DR

This study explores how AI-generated kinship influencers on Chinese social media engage older adults emotionally and socially, revealing design strategies, benefits, and risks involved in their use.

Contribution

It uncovers the design cues used by kinship AI influencers and analyzes their impact on older adults' emotional needs and social relationships within cultural norms.

Findings

Influencers use visual and conversational cues to enact kinship roles.

Older adults experience emotional resonance and fulfill informational needs.

Risks include emotional displacement and unequal emotional investment.

Abstract

AI-generated influencers are rapidly gaining popularity on Chinese short-video platforms, often adopting kinship-based roles such as AI grandchildren to attract older adults. Although this trend has raised public concern, little is known about the design strategies behind these influencers, how older adults experience them, and the benefits and risks involved. In this study, we combined social media analysis with interviews to unpack the above questions. Our findings show that influencers use both visual and conversational cues to enact kinship roles, prompting audiences to engage in kinship-based role-play. Interviews further show that these cues arouse emotional resonance, help fulfill older adults' informational and emotional needs, while also raising concerns about emotional displacement and unequal emotional investment. We highlight the complex relationship between virtual avatars and real family ties, shaped by broader sociocultural norms, and discuss how AI might strengthen social support for older adults while mitigating risks within cultural contexts.