Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the impact of digital visual communication on health and care in China and Japan. We demonstrate how the sharing of short videos (China) and visual messaging and video calling (Japan) are part of emerging visual cultures and shifting practices of filial piety and peer-support.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines the impact of digital visual communication upon health and care practices in China and Japan. The research informing this paper is drawn from multi-sited, long-term (Feb 2018 - June 2019) ethnography conducted as part of the ASSA project with particular reference to everyday digital health and self-care practices among older people in China and Japan.

In Shanghai (China), sharing health-related short videos (duan shi pin) has gained popularity among retirees, not only as part of a daily practice of traditional Chinese 'body cultivation' (Yang sheng), but also as a popular way of expressing care among family and friends. In urban Kyoto and rural Kochi (Japan), forms of care at a distance are practiced through the exchange of messages, photos, emojis and stickers (illustrated messages), and also through video calling, allowing people to demonstrate care while maintaining privacy and reducing a sense of burden.

We find that digital visual communication practices are facilitating informal care and enabling new practices of filial piety and peer-support in China and Japan as older people adopt the smartphone. Understanding caring in the digital age is critical given the challenges posed by ageing populations in both sites.