Man's struggles with family over single status go viral

"Being 38 and not married, my mom took me to a psychiatrist", a short video posted by a man surnamed Wang on Friday, has created a sensation on social media.

"My mom took me to the hospital, again", Wang from Xinxiang, Henan province, said in the video. When he asked his mom why they were in the hospital, she replied "To have your mental condition checked."

"We are worried about our son being 38 and still not married. And we suspected it was due to mental reasons," Wang's mom told Jimu News, a news platform run by Hubei Daily Media Group.

This was the fourth time Wang was forced by his mother to go to the psychiatrist in four consecutive years, a yearly routine, Wang told Jimu News.

Wang became a "Beijing drifter" after graduation from Wuhan Sports University.

He worked as a tennis coach in 2011 and then became a drama actor in 2014.

"I was in a relationship before, but because of teaching tennis usually over 10 hours a day, it was exhausting to maintain a relationship." Wang said he has plans for marriage in the future, but work made him unable to be in a relationship now.

As for the suspicions of mental illness, Wang said there might be three reasons: First, he is still not married at 38, relatively higher than the average marriage age in his hometown.

Second, due to work pressure in Beijing, his mental state did experience ups and downs.

Third, as a drama actor, he did regular vocal practice by yelling "ahh" while at home.

The doctor reassured Wang's mom Wang had nothing wrong with his mental health. Wang felt relieved and expressed his understanding towards his mother.

Even though he is still single, Wang said he wants to get married to reassure his family in 2023, and his mother said this was the last time she would get her son checked.

Spring Festival is usually the time of the year when topics about singles being urged to get married are trending on social media.

There were reports saying single men in a village of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region were ordered to kneel inside the family ancestral temple to think about why they could not find a spouse.