China has launched a state-sponsored dating app in an effort to combat declining marriage rates, The Guardian reports.
The “Palm Guixi” app uses data from the residents of Guixi, Jiangxi, in an attempt to create what it believes to be an appropriate match for singles, according to the technology news site Gizmodo. The application also organizes blind dates for users, The Guardian reported Monday, citing Chinese state-run news outlet China Youth Daily. (RELATED: US Marriage Rate Drops To Lowest Level On Record In Over 150 Years)
New level of hell just dropped: state-sponsored dating app https://t.co/LJ8z9fw14L
— Fiona Harrigan (@Fiona_Harrigan) March 21, 2023
A report by China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs found fewer people in the nation have been getting married in recent years, according to Fortune. There were 7.6 million marriage registrations in 2021, the fewest since its public records began in 1985. The report also found there were 5.4 marriages per 1,000 people that same year.
Some users on the Chinese social media platform Weibo have spoken out against the application, according to Gizmodo.
“Marriage is like a gamble. The problem is that ordinary people can’t afford to lose, so I choose not to take part,” one user wrote, the outlet reported.
Some young people in China have reportedly welcomed the decline in marriage due to the country’s 2021 “cooling-off period” update to its divorce law, according to the South China Morning Post.
Other Weibo users are also linking the new dating app to the Chinese government’s efforts to increase the country’s birth rate, The Guardian reported.
Government officials throughout the region of Jiangxi have also been organizing in-person events in order to get single people to met each other, according to the outlet.