AI-generated videos of aging characters expressing regret at not getting married and paying heed to their parents’ advice are flooding social media platforms like Douyin and Weibo in China, as the country faces a 20.5 per cent year-on-year decrease in the number of marriages registered. 

In one video, the protagonist is lying alone in a hospital bed at the age of 58 . Other patients around her are shown being cared for by their family members. Another shows a 56-year-old woman expressing regret at her decision of remaining unmarried and childless. Despite being explicitly tagged as “AI generated”, these videos continue to go viral.