In Asia, some hyper-connected young people earn money by making lonely fans believe in a potential friendship or love. The best of them can make 500 000 euros a month…and even have their own private island.
Every day in the biggest Asian cities, livestreamers dance, chat, sing, and even eat for many hours in front of their webcam. On the other side of the screen, thousands of anonymous fans try to combat their profound loneliness by giving special gifts to their idols : virtual stickers. Sending a single virtual sticker to a livestreamer can cost thousands of euros.
All the money received from those stickers will be shared later between the agency, the platform and the livestreamer. For a lonely fan, spending this money is the ultimate chance to catch their attention, to hope for a personal reply, and why not their heart?
What issues of our hyper-connected society are hidden behind these colorful backgrounds ? Is livestreaming a job with bright future?