Recently, the Chinese app “Dead or Alive,” which became popular for its straightforward name and sparked heated discussions online, has now changed its name again to “Here or Here,” causing a new wave of attention on the internet.
According to the official public account “Urban Release” of Shangcheng District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, the platform has officially upgraded to the “Here or Here” secure protection platform and has been deployed in Nanxing Street. With a higher aging population in Nanxing Street, where people aged 60 and above account for 44.4% of the population, ensuring the safety and emergency support for elderly living alone or in empty nests has always been a key focus and challenge for the district.
After the upgrade, the elderly can now simply sign in on their smartphones every day without any hassle. If they fail to sign in for two consecutive days, the system will automatically remind their children or emergency contacts.
The team behind “Here or Here” announced that the product has been fully adapted for 18 global languages. Within the next week, two core functions will be sporadically unveiled during the evenings, and subsequent updates will be available on major app stores.
On the evening of May 24th, the original “Dead or Alive” app announced its official name change to “Here or Here.” A user in the comments section asked, “When will the software be available for Android?” to which the official responded: “It will be available this time.”
“Dead or Alive” was developed by Yuejing (Zhengzhou) Technical Services Co., Ltd., specifically designed for China, especially for urban residents living alone. Users are required to click a button for check-in every 48 hours. If they miss two check-ins, the system will immediately notify their emergency contacts. While this app provides comfort for solitary individuals, it also reflects the economic challenges and loneliness and security anxieties faced by single individuals in China.
“Dead or Alive” became a popular paid download app in China after being launched last year, drawing attention to the vast single economy and the current mental and emotional state of solitary individuals in the country.
Earlier this year, the app became a popular paid download app on the China Apple Store and stirred controversy due to its name. Many users believed the name “Dead or Alive” was inauspicious and inconvenient to share with family and friends, leading some to suggest renaming it to more compassionate expressions like “Alive or Not.” Supporters noted that the straightforward name accurately addressed the social pain point of “lonely death” among solitary individuals.
Subsequent renamings of the app included “Demumu.”
However, the app soon disappeared. Apple later revealed in a statement that it was taken down at the request of the Chinese government’s network supervision department.
An article by “The Atlantic” mentioned that the app seemed to challenge the constant self-congratulation by the Chinese Communist Party. Despite the CCP’s claims of economic prosperity, social progress, and people’s happiness under the party’s leadership, the “Dead or Alive” app exposed the inner anxieties of many urban residents, highlighting a significant social issue in today’s China – a large number of people living alone leading to societal loneliness. The CCP’s ban on the app indicates their close monitoring of public emotions, discontent, and panic towards observed phenomena.
The renaming of “Dead or Alive” to “Here or Here” has once again sparked discussion on the internet.
Some netizens commented that changing the name again was no big deal, while others felt the original name was more fitting. There were also suggestions to rename it to “Nothing’s Wrong,” “Still Here,” or “Alive,” among others.