If you are feeling despondent but can't quite bring yourself to share your troubles with a close friend or family member, where do you turn?
For some people struggling with anxieties, the answer is online. For 10 yuan (US$1.38) or so, you can bare your soul to a total stranger through text or a voice call for 15 minutes. You pay more the longer you talk.
Paying for emotional support is especially trendy among the Z-generation, even though it may seem like a somewhat pathetic recourse. On e-commerce websites, all kinds of such services are available. You can pay for a morning call, a goodnight call, playing online games with someone or even encouragement when doing homework.
On the popular Taobao platform, mental-support services are priced from 1 yuan to over 100 yuan. Some online sites report extremely high sales volumes. For instance, a shop named "Love Tavern" boasts over 1,700 followers and a product called "talk service" has attracted 20,000 buyers.
"The companion I chose was very patient with me," said a buyer whose screenname is "drinking alone in moonlight." "I had a very heartfelt talk with her, and it seemed that my anxiety and worries about my relationship with my boyfriend were dispelled and I felt more confident about myself."
In an era of technology, more people are paying to pour out their troubles to a total stranger online. Sometimes neither party knows what they are getting into.
Customers typically get to select companions with different voice types and skills. Online companions come in different categories. "Mystery boxes" indicate that the site will assign whatever companion is available. "Goddess-like" refers to companions with soothing voices. "Elite" means that the companion may be a certificated therapist.
Customers can choose a one-time interaction or packages. On some sites, a monthly package can cost upwards of 30,000 yuan.
Being an online chat companion requires more than just a sympathetic ear.
Zhang Xiyue, a part-time emotional support worker for eight months, shared her experiences on the platform Xiaohongshu (Red). She advised people to be cautious about taking on such a job.
"You may think you're ready when you actually aren't," she said. "To do this job means that you are fully immersing yourself in people's negative moods. Your own emotions eventually become affected. You often hear stories that are beyond imagination and shatter your view about the world and people. But you have to force yourself to be empathetic rather than making your clients feel you are looking down on them or sneering at them."
A commercial consultant in her "day job," Zhang said she thought it would be relatively easy to offer solutions to her online clients. She quickly found out that was not the case.
"Most of the people coming to me don't want a solution at all; they just want to pour their hearts out," she said. "And when I tried to provide them some ideas or advice, they thought I was lecturing them and became quite unhappy about it."
Wannabe online chat companions should be wary of dodgy sites offering these services, she said.
Zhang said she once joined a chat-companion workshop with the title "cultural media company," registered in Liaoning Province. The "staff training" materials she received were very detailed, covering the nature of the work, such as "chatting, playing games together and emotional confidences."
Her job description called for "casual chatting, listening, venting and soothing to sleep." The materials also outlined a detailed workflow, including interviews and auditions, order distribution and reward mechanism to the companions.
Sometimes, however, such companies can be a trap for newbie companions.
"All I can say is that you should be very cautious when you join one," said Zhang. "You need to know clearly how much commission they elicit, what kind of contract they provide you and how they promote you. Never pay to join a company. It's a trap."
According to the annual report from the China Consumers' Council last year, regulations and laws related to the "emotion-support industry" lag its rapid development.
Hu Gang, a member of the council's legal team, told China Central Television that when consumers book such emotional support services, they may face the risk of personal information they provide being leaked.
"Consumers may need to disclose their own identities, such as names or phone numbers, and companions may also face such risks as well," said Hu.
E-commerce platforms that support such services should review the qualifications of their service providers and exercise thorough management over the entire process, Hu added.
Regulatory authorities should also start drafting regulations for such services as soon as possible.
"Before that happens, potential consumers should carefully check what they are getting in terms of the process involved and pricing," Hu said. "Emotional support services are personalized, and it's difficult to 'measure' their effects. Consumers and providers should at least agree upon pricing and service duration, as well as the mechanisms for quitting a service and getting a refund."
