The Year of The Tiger: China’s Digital Predictions for 2022

2022’s Lunar New Year brings the Year of the Tiger, symbolising power, courage, confidence, leadership and strength. As the Year of the Tiger approaches Mailman Group China, a digital marketing and social media agency have put together several digital predictions that they will have the biggest impact through 2022.

Expansion of Metaverse and Virtual Idols

After Virtual Idols makes an appearance in 2021, it is predicted that diversity will continue not only from a tech and illustration point but also from a commercial and monetisation perspective. They believe that brands including luxury and retail will partner with virtual idols. It is predicted that there will be an increase in blurred boundaries between gaming, social and content. People will be able to create their virtual avatar and live with it in a more interconnected virtual world.

Digital currency growth

In China, there will be an increased emphasis on the digital yuan. As a form of central bank digital currency, the digital yuan is an electronic version of the country’s official currency which will be accessible for consumers via an app. It is reported that more than 200 million users have already registered and with pilot programs underway in specific cities, this will potentially further attract users. Partnering with banks and merchants such as JD.com, it is expected that there will be a significant interest in local users.

Government crackdown on major social media ‘clean-up’

Towards the end of 2021, the government of China imposed fines on numerous social-media networks for mismanagement of their platforms, including illegal/sensitive content and an excess of social-media networks. The great influence created by social media is at stake with the government’s missions to stamp out China’s unhealthy obsession with celebrity fan culture. Most of these digital platforms are privately owned, meaning that there is an expectation to see them being monitored under the central governments ‘control’ initiative.

The year of the silver generation

Statistics show that by 2022, over 14% of Chinas population will be older than 65 – when the population aged 65 and over accounts for at least 7% of the total population, it is widely accepted that the country has reached an ‘ageing society’ status. This is significant for China, as society is expected to support the people in these demographics. This will bring a lot of new opportunities to organisations across the country. New technologies will be needed to meet their requirements and new opportunities for brands that can meet this demographic desire to keep enjoying life.

China regulates big digital media

This year there will be continued governmental regulation of popular media platforms in China. The new push for regulation will be the usage of algorithms on social media platforms such as Weibo and Douyin. These new regulations will be introduced from March 1st which will be aimed to protect the audience whilst helping the owner of the platform and local authorities’ ability to retain control of media.