A new group of senior citizens in China are heading online to watch videos, learn recipes and even take courses, as the novel coronavirus pneumonia disease quietly reshapes the lifestyles and consumption habits of the older generation.

When residential complexes across the country were locked down, the internet became the only channel with which senior citizens could keep contact with the outside world, with many resorting to games, video platforms and even karaoke apps to pass the time. Some of them, with the help of their children, downloaded news, cooking, and gym applications to their smart phones.

Users in their 30s and 40s and even older made up the majority of the newly added active users on micro-blogging platform Weibo during the pandemic, while third- and fourth-tier cities saw 37 percent more active users in the elderly category.

Though more and more senior Chinese citizens are going out to farm produce markets and supermarkets as the COVID-19 outbreak subdues, they are still taking to chat groups and using social platforms as the main channel for purchasing daily necessities.

According to statistics, online orders for vegetables placed by people in their 50s during the Chinese New Year increased fourfold, and smart retailing platform Miss Fresh saw a 237-percent growth in users above the age of 40.

Many Chinese seniors are following the advice of the younger generation and resorting to contactless delivery, contributing to the "homebody economy" during the pandemic.