FMJ 2020

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Internet celebrities in Asia: from behind the screens

    As darkness falls over Taipei City, an image of a woman illuminates the night sky. She’s one of Taiwan’s most famous live streamers, a niche group of celebrities who earn their fame through front-facing video cameras. Her face beams from a 100-foot-tall billboard overlooking Taipei. Across Asia, countless other live streamers joke, eat, and sleep while being watched by thousands on smart phones and computer screens. The most successful among them can make fortunes enough to buy their own islands.

    After a long day’s work, Junji Chen treasures time spent gazing into the eyes of his personal favorite, Yutong. Having moved away from his village to work in Taipei, the 42-year-old has little social life. Most of his relationships are with Facebook friends, many of whom he has never met in person — and with live streamers.

    Yutong cannot see Chen or hear his voice but, to him, their connection feels raw, real, maybe even reciprocated. In the comment’s section, he can flatter her with compliments or send her money in the form of virtual stickers. One sticker can cost thousands of dollars, a steep price for a factory worker. But for lonely viewers like Junji, who spends a third of his salary on virtual stickers, the companionship is worth it.

    A streamer’s job can cause physical and mental harm. Peak hours are late at night, meaning irregular sleep schedules and fatigue. Some become isolated from friends and family or grow depressed. In Korea, live streamers who eat large quantities of food in front of the camera — known as Mukbang — are prone to obesity. Because a live streamer’s success depends on their digital popularity, they may continue unhealthy behaviors to please their fans. Once intimacy is lost, so is their source of income — even though, financially, few can live off the industry alone.

    Live streaming fans can manifest “parasocial relationships,” one-sided friendships that appear reciprocated, with their favorite live streamers. For a person who lacks social skills, parasocial relationships can create the illusion of companionship when, in reality, the other person offers them little or nothing in return.

    Fans believe that they are truly cared for, says Jerome Gence, who photographed live streamers and their fans throughout Asia, but “in the end, [the live streamer] just takes the money and the fan ends up even more lonely than before.” Still, he adds, some fans still say the videos help cultivate friendship, or even love. “Some fans say to us, ‘I follow the live streamer because they are the only one who knows my name.’”

(Claire Wolters. www.nationalgeographic.com. 31.07.2019. Adaptado.)