Table 4.

Demographic characteristics of the samples.

Item	Option	Frequency	Percentage	Cumulative percentage
Gender	Male	329	51.8	51.8
	Female	306	48.2	100
Age	18–24 years old	298	46.9	46.9
	25–35 years old	337	53.1	100
Education background	Higher vocational school, senior high school, and inferior level	187	29.4	29.4
	Undergraduate or junior college	255	40.2	69.6
	Master	124	19.5	89.1
	PhD and superior level	69	10.9	100
Primary purposes of using virtual companions	Emotional support	155	24.4	24.4
	Information inquiry/search	161	25.4	49.8
	Social entertainment	150	23.6	73.4
	Learning or work assistance	169	26.6	100
Occupation	Military/civil servant	134	21.1	21.1
	Agriculture/farming	122	19.2	40.3
	Industrial/blue-collar worker	121	19.1	59.4
	Business	136	21.4	80.8
	N/A	122	19.2	100
Monthly income	Below RMB 10,000 Yuan	125	19.7	19.7
	RMB 10,000–20,000 Yuan	191	30.1	49.8
	RMB 20,000–30,000 Yuan	207	32.6	82.4
	More than RMB 30,000 Yuan	112	17.6	100