World News for Students of English

21-01-2026 07:00

In China, many people now pay for a phone app that asks one clear question each day: “Are you dead?”

The app is for people who live alone and worry that no one will notice if something bad happens to them. Users tap once a day to show they are safe. If they don’t tap for two days, the app sends a message to chosen people.

Since it started last year, the app became very popular. The app shows a big social change. More people in China live alone because fewer people marry, and many older people live without family. Often, workmates notice problems before family or friends do. Experts say people feel more alone today, even though they use phones and online tools all the time.

Studies show loneliness affects both older people and young people. Online contact is not the same as contact with another person. Time with other people in real life still matters because it makes people feel connected and well.

Difficult words: notice (to see or realize something), social (about people and how they live together), loneliness (feeling alone and cut off).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.