The Dark Side of China’s Influencer Factories

The live streamers in China are trying to act like happy influencers in the most depressing office you have ever seen. Why are girls working in the small cabins for hours forced to do this? The easiest way for you to understand how this scheme works is to think about that industry the same way you think about many products made in China: they're made to be cheaply produced like fast food and often not meant to last long. Only for those women they are the product being sold with zero experience. They enter these influencer factories to be trained for up to two months. 

Performing at least six to 12 hours daily in front of the camera, they sell products, sing, dance and chat with random strangers online with some of them earning as low as $120 per month. Imagine having one building lined up with cubicles upon cubicles of dozens of pretty female livestreamers who are meant to seem like they're just doing their passion to their audiences, each one guided by an agent who dictates how they should look. 

And the sad part? Just like China made products that can only be good for so long, the manufactured fame of these everyday livestreamers usually lasts for up to six months. After knowing about this, we can say that this operates like a brothel, right? And this is how this industry starts to sound even more shady because every female has to over perform in order to get tips. They are forced to entertain the audience who play the most zonly men. The only way men are willing to send them virtual gifts is by having these women sing to them or chat with them about their day and once these pretty live streamers have built a solid loyal fan base, the incredibly lucky 0.01% of them. That is how they're able to finally earn big, taking home about $30,000 to $45,000 a month. 

In fact, China alone houses more than 900 live streaming platforms! With a willing audience of nearly 560,000,000 people, it is a thriving industry that profits on loneliness and it seems like it's not going away anytime. Chinese girls will continue to find themselves performing like modern slaves in depressing camps. These women are stuck in such a toxic industry. It's not about China, it's about how all of us should realize that in a world where we all seem more connected than ever, somehow we are only making ourselves even lonelier. From the influencers chasing fate, doing things they're ashamed of to the audience, just wanting to be noticed, but never quite getting the real thing. At the end of the day, no matter where you come from, we all just deserve to be treated the same. 

NOTE: To read the response to this article, read the following article; 

https://aemagazine.pk/article/an-inside-perspective-on-chinas-influencer-market