People Challenged to Live 12 Hours without WeChat in New Documentaries

China has changed from ‘I’ll call you’ to ‘I’ll WeChat you.’ WeChat is the main tool through which the nation connects to each other in their daily lives – despite it only going online 6 years ago.  But, where is the line between connected and “over-connected?”  Undoubtedly, technology brings us closer, but it also brings us new sets of challenges.

To show just how enmeshed WeChat is within China’s daily lives, Saatchi & Saatchi Guangzhou cooperated with the WeChat team to invite 6 people from different backgrounds to join the [WeChat Lab], where they would film their life for 12 hours without WeChat.

Check out the six documentaries here:

• My Better Half
• My Fun
• The most important thing in my life
• My living depends on it
• My masochistic life
• My Chinese friend

All in all, six people took part in the experiment, showing people what life would be like for just 12 waking hours without WeChat.  Through these stories, we can rethink the value of WeChat and come to understand the meaning of connection.

WeChat may be the largest social media network in China, but it is still new.  At only 6 years old, the app is still a place to experiment, particularly when it comes to user experience. WeChat knows each user’s experience is unique, that its usefulness will be subjective. Therefore, it is constantly looking for new ways to interact with its users, to make their lives easier, to facilitate connection.

“[WeChat Lab] is a hybrid of emotion and science,” said Saatchi & Saatchi Guangzhou ECD Elaine Young, “To conduct an experiment like this takes courage – to call on users to restrain themselves, have them discover the pains that come with separation in order to understand the connections that make their lives worthwhile.  Only WeChat could do this.”

WeChat connects.  But, the other side of that coin is separation. As the old adage goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. An occasional separation can help you to realize what you can’t do without.

[WeChat Lab] looks at connection from that side of the coin, highlighting its importance by taking it away. It prompts viewers to think about the connections between people and their phones, people and WeChat, and people themselves in order to realize that the essence of that connection is love.

Source: Saatchi & Saatchi Guangzhou

  App, Campaign, China, Documentaries, Marketing, Mobile, Saatchi & Saatchi Guangzhou, Social Experiment, Social Media, WeChat, [WeChat Lab]