Ever wished you could magic up a boyfriend to share some late night chat and all your woes with? In China young, studious, women are doing just that. Website Taobao (think China’s version of Amazon) have seen an explosion in sales of ‘mobile boyfriends’ – these are guys who you pay to ring you up and pretend to be your boyfriend on your phone.
Taobao say there are now almost 500 shops offering the service on the site now. ‘Customers want to experience what it’s like to have a boyfriend,’ says one of the Taobao seller, who says the majority of her female customers are aged 18-26 years. ‘Some want to find someone to talk to, and others want someone to comfort them after they’ve broken up with boyfriends in real life.’
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One girl who has tried a ‘mobile boyfriend’ Hua Lin* explains that they act as pseudo counselors, offering their an emotional lifeline as girls navigate the various social pressures. ‘During the depressing days after I ended my relationship with my boyfriend in real life, my virtual boyfriend really helped. No matter how long I wanted to talk or how depressing my complaints were, as long as he had enough time, he would listen and give me advice,' she tells The Debrief.
China’s a tough place for young, single women right now. Young women are expected to achieve at university, get a great job and then get married and have children, all in the space of a decade. (A 2010 National Marriage Survey found that nine out of 10 Chinese men think women should be married by the age of 27). ‘If you regard the service as a kind of emotional support it's OK. But if you intended to find a real boyfriend, well I think you’d be lying to yourself,’ Hua continues.
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When 25-year-old Huang Jiajia* from Beijing signed up for a virtual boyfriend on Taobao she didn’t know what to expect. She’d read about the new trend in China for fake boyfriends, and having also just come out of a painful relationship, decided to try it. For her, it was an experiment. Perhaps a guy on the end of the phone might be easier than one in real life? Mainly she missed having someone to talk to.
For the equivalent of 50p, Huang could opt for one hour’s worth of ‘chatting’ on WeChat per day. Or for an indulgent £5, she could choose a 24-hour chat service, which include two phone calls, a ‘sweet kiss’ (when the partner pretends to kiss you over the phone) and wake-up call. ‘There loads of different types of guys working as mobile boyfriends, the seller asks which personality you need; a gentle guy, someone kind, or mature, humorous, and so on. For me, I wanted a mature and kind boyfriend,’ she explains.
'The first time I tried the service a young guy called Yifan* called me. He said to me, “I’m your virtual boyfriend for the next 24 hours. Don’t be nervous or embaressed, we can talk about anything, you should see me as your intimate friend,”’ Huang continues. ‘But talking about my feelings to a stranger felt odd, and I wasn’t very chatty for the first half an hour.'
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Despite getting on with Yifan, Huang decided she’d like to try a different virtual boyfriend. A few days later Niya*, a 28-year-old mathematics teacher of a primary school from Sichuan province whose ‘reviews’ say he has a kind heart and easy-going character called. ‘I asked him why he wanted to act as girl’s virtual boyfriend,’ Huang says. ‘He told me he hoped he could cure broken hearts. He said he once spoke to a 21-year-old girl who said she would commit suicide if he didn’t answer the phone.’
Niya explained to Huang that a lot of the female customers using ‘mobile boyfriends’ are gloomy and have lost confidence in life. They are usually young girls troubled by relationships. ‘But he told me that he couldn’t figure out what I want to get from him because most customers wanted to receive comfort,’ Huang continues.
The next night Niya doesn’t call Huang when he’s supposed to – later saying he was in hospital with a suspected heart problem. Huang doesn’t know whether to believe him or not. But concludes mobile boyfriends are just as unreliable as normal ones.
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*Name changed to protect identity
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.