Millions of Chinese embrace live video streaming, from regular folks to celebrities and other VIP’s in the country, including one game-changing billionaire.
Yes, the Chinese now go beyond sharing written thoughts and posting pictures. They delight in sharing videos of their private moments as well, from the important and inspirational to the seemingly mundane ones.
According to Hua Chuang Securities, the market for live-streaming app reached 12 billion yuan in 2015. The company projected that by 2020, it will grow to an astounding 106 billion yuan, reported Forbes.
Wang Jianlin, chairman of the Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, joins the multitude in sharing videos of their lives online.
In May, the 61-year-old Sichuan-born billionaire live-streamed himself playing cards with some men--aboard his private jet. Later that day, he likewise broadcast his activities during a visit to a company theme park in Nanchang in Jiangxi Province.
Nic Li, a 19-year-old college student, told Forbes that when she gets the urge to connect to people, particularly when loneliness strikes, she uses the live-streaming app Ingkee to chat.
Li said that each week she spends 3-4 hours interacting with viewers at Ingkee, and the attention she receives makes her feel “nice.”
It’s an entirely different case for another Li.
Writing for China Daily, financial reporter Li Xiang said in her article that after believing that such apps “would add an interesting aspect” to her life, they only made her “so bored.”
“I kept browsing and switching from video to video, hoping to find something interesting or meaningful,” wrote Li. “Disappointed, I found that the content was often boring, meaningless and seedy.”
In the end, the political science graduate from University of California, Los Angeles, decided to delete some of them.
According to lawyer and technology expert Paul Haswell, through live videos shared online, people can become, at any given time, “a live reporter” or “a broadcaster of anything,” reported Voice of America (VOA) English News.
"It [online video sharing] also seems to be the hot area in terms of attracting investment,” said Phil Lisio, head of Shanghai-based consultancy The Foote Group, to VOA.
Ken Xu, a partner at Shanghai-based venture capital Gobi Partners, presents other reasons why so many get hooked on online video sharing.
Xu told Forbes that one of them is the lack of “entertainment resources” available in the third- and fourth-tier cities in the country.
“So they use live-streaming apps to watch and socialize with handsome men or beautiful women,” he added.