Chinese Parents Alarmed as Children Join 10+ Online Groups Through Smartwatches and Phones

Chinese parents are debating how to protect children who join multiple online groups through smartwatches and phones, after some found their children connected to more than 10 groups filled with classmates and strangers.

A woman, surnamed Wu, in Hangzhou said half of her daughter's contacts were strangers and that the girl had joined more than 10 groups during the summer holiday. After Wu deleted the unfamiliar groups, the girl cried for several days and said she felt disrespected, Qianjiang Evening News reported today.

Another mother, surnamed Wang, found that her son had joined class groups as well as groups for board games, running and video games. The boy had joined a group where he unexpectedly reconnected with an old friend, but the large number of messages also consumed much of his time and attention.

Parents told reporters that children joined groups through smartwatch contact functions, QR codes on Xiaohongshu and various groups on QQ and WeChat. Some parents said they did not know whether the people in a group were classmates, strangers or people with harmful intentions.

A father, surnamed Zhang, said his son joined a gaming group through a QR code on Xiaohongshu. More than 30 people were in the group, including adults and children who mostly did not know one another.

Parents have taken different approaches. Some deleted unfamiliar groups, while others replaced smartwatches with simple watches that could not connect to the Internet. Another parent said her family kept two classmate groups, left groups dominated by strangers and limited daily phone use to one hour.

A senior class teacher in Hangzhou advised parents not to rely on blanket bans. She said children have normal social needs, especially during holidays, and that parents could be more relaxed about groups made up of classmates. For groups dominated by strangers, she recommended that parents discuss the content openly with their children instead of secretly checking their devices.

Another teacher advised children not to join groups of strangers or share home addresses and school names. Children should immediately tell their parents if anyone asks for money, red envelopes or personal photos.

The teachers also encouraged parents to arrange more offline activities, saying that real-world friendships and a fuller daily routine could reduce children's reliance on virtual groups.