Is he just not that into me? Young people in China turn to online psychics for answers via astrology apps

Apps like Cece offering tarot reading, fortunetelling and astrology are part of an online mysticism market worth US$14 billion a year. Beijing is cracking down

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Apps such as Cece, where “psychics” sell their insights, are part of a huge online mysticism market in China. As Beijing cracks down, they are repositioning themselves as entertainment providers. Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Xinrou Shu

Published: 7:45am, 1 Oct 2023Updated: 10:40am, 16 Oct 2023

“I’m a Pisces, I flirt with and date different guys at once,” 27-year-old Zhang tells me. “But I couldn’t stop thinking about this one particular guy, Wang, who I met last year.”

Despite the initial sparks, things did not quite converge – when he treated her like a princess, she saw him as a casual date, then when she wanted something more serious, he withdrew.

Thinking of Wang on a cold night in Beijing this February, Zhang cannot ignore the butterflies in her stomach, going over what had – or rather had not – transpired. Sitting in bed, she unlocks her phone and clicks on the Chinese astrology app Cece, hoping to calm her nerves.

“Why did he stop texting me? Why did he give me the cold shoulder? Are we compatible? Is he seeing other girls?”

Online psychics are an outlet for Chinese youth faced with more uncertainty than ever. Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Zhang asks various live-streaming psychics on the app, but the answers are inconsistent. Some say, “He’s interested in you, and he’ll text you in two weeks,” while others deliver bad news via star charts, concluding, in Zhang’s words, that “he’s p****d at you because you f****d around too much”.

There are more judgmental readings, too, upsetting her further: “You’re not his type. He’s looking for someone submissive. You’re too proactive. As a girl, you should play hard to get.”