Similar to her neighboring country, Japan, China faces significant difficulties in providing long-term care to the elderly. Female household members who traditionally provided necessary caregiving are no longer available as much as in the past due to the demographic and socioeconomic changes over the past few decades. Against this backdrop, we investigated how socioeconomic factors affect the perception of family caregiving norms in China, using an international comparative household dataset that allowed us to compare China with Japan, the latter being extensively investigated. We used ordered probit regression to estimate the model equation. Our results show that rural residency, household assets, and government dependency are positively associated with the perception of care. A notable difference from the Japanese results is that rural residents have a rather positive perception of family caregiving norms. Furthermore, urban–rural subsample analyses revealed that women in rural areas perceive caregiving negatively.

Given the substantial changes in health and safety protocols and economic activities over the past year, socioeconomic routines have returned to a state of normalcy. Therefore, it is important to conduct a longitudinal study to determine whether these recent changes have left a lasting imprint on loneliness, specifically among those who have experienced post-pandemic loneliness in previous years. We investigated the incidence of loneliness and the risk factors associated with it during the post-pandemic period using recent data. We utilized longitudinal data spanning from 2020 to 2023 and employed mean comparison tests and weighted probit regression models in this analysis. Our study reveals that loneliness continues to be a notable issue, with persistent, post-pandemic, and recent loneliness rates of 47.6%, 4.3%, and 2.2%, respectively. We also observed a slight reduction in both persistent and post-pandemic loneliness compared to the previous year. Younger people continued to experience higher persistent loneliness rates, with no significant age or sex differences in post-pandemic or recent loneliness. Various factors, such as demographics, socioeconomic status, and psychological factors, influence loneliness differently across sexes and age groups. The policy implications include ongoing monitoring, targeted interventions, and support for specific demographic and socioeconomic groups to address post-pandemic loneliness for the sustainable management of the loneliness issue in Japan.

Smartphone use during the active phase of the COVID-19 pandemic emerged as a crucial means of facilitating communication when strict physical distancing was recommended. Previous studies conducted during the pandemic have suggested that smartphone use contributes to reduced loneliness. However, the influence of smartphone usage on the experience of loneliness in the aftermath of the active phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, also referred to as the post-COVID era, remains unclear, particularly because many physical communication restrictions were lifted during this period. To explore the association of smartphone use with the experience of loneliness in the post-COVID era, we analyzed the latest data from 2022 and 2023, when the COVID-19 pandemic gradually concluded. Our findings revealed that, in 2023, smartphone use increased the risk of loneliness among individuals aged 50–64 years. Conversely, among the younger generations, increased smartphone use was associated with decreased loneliness. The results of our study suggest that smartphones can serve as a significant tool for alleviating loneliness among the younger generations during the post-pandemic period.