Grandkids inspire seniors to become video gamers

Don't be surprised if one day, you discover that your competitors in a video game tournament are silver-haired seniors. At an elderly care home in Xuchang, Henan province, some of the residents are already in training.

Fan Jinlin, who runs five such homes, first thought of teaching residents to play video games after many said they wanted to strengthen their bonds with their grandchildren.

"One grandmother asked me how to play video games," the 26-year-old said. "She said her grandson wouldn't talk to her but played games all day. Many elderly people had the same problem and asked for my help."

Fan bought computers and installed popular video games on them. To his surprise, the residents, who all wear reading glasses, dedicated themselves to learning how to play. "Many mastered the games in less than a week, and some said they could play even better than their grandchildren, especially the grandmothers," Fan said. "They learned quickly."

Two of the elderly players are especially eager to participate in video game competitions.

"They think playing games is trendy and like the idea of being able to travel to participate in competitions," Fan said.

In addition to growing closer to their grandchildren, some of the older players joined the team to find playmates for themselves, said Fan, adding that the residents do whatever activities interest them, including painting, reading, solving math problems and playing mahjong.

"As people get older, they enter a second childhood, becoming more playful. So I teach them activities that appeal to the young, and sometimes they compete with them."

The care home with the video game training sessions doesn't charge residents. Fan tries to make ends meet through government subsidies and also by uploading videos to a social media account he started in 2020.

With a degree in broadcasting and hosting, he shoots short videos of the daily goings-on at the homes to raise money to help subsidize his projects, so he can offer rooms free of charge or for a low fee. His account now has more than 2 million followers on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.

"Grandmothers bickering over small things often get the most likes," Fan said with a smile.

His path to running care homes began when he was in college and visited the home where his father worked. He remembers being shocked by what he saw.

"It was not what I had imagined," he said. "For me, the ideal care home should remind people of hotels, or even homes. They shouldn't look like a hospital."

He also noticed a lack of younger workers and the financial problems some of the residents were having.

"Not many young people are willing to work in care homes because of the atmosphere and the pressure of taking care of seniors," Fan said. "Some residents have also had to move out because of financial constraints."

His first care home, which he designed and decorated himself, opened in October 2020. One big difference between his homes and others is that disabled seniors live in a separate area from those who are still able to take care of themselves.

"I found that many disabled seniors prefer not to live with more able-bodied residents, because they sometimes wallow in self pity," Fan said. "Many healthy seniors feel bad, too — seeing disabled residents made them worry that their own health might deteriorate."

The young entrepreneur hopes to receive more support. "It's not easy to run care homes, and I hope more young people will join our team and help us create a new type of retirement home, where residents have a place to realize their dreams," he said.

Fan said his parents told him that they want to live in one of his care homes when they get older. "I took that as a compliment," he said.

Qi Xin contributed to the story.