The accounts of these elderly anchors usually carry the label "miserable", which makes people want to ask: Are these elderly anchors really actors packaged by the institution?Why did the MCN organization choose the elderly from a rural background as the anchor?
Station B's UP master "Kangyo Hey" secretly visited some live broadcast areas for the elderly last year and found some distressing situations. Many seniors are seen as "cash cows" by institutions, and they are packaged in various images to attract the attention and sympathy of the audience. However, these seniors often receive only 10 per cent of their share, and most of their income is taken by institutions. For example, the old man Grandpa Niu visited by the UP master, he claimed to be a veteran, his son was suffering from cancer, his daughter-in-law ran away, and he had a 5-year-old grandson. The burden of this family is all on him, and in desperation, he can only make money through live broadcasting. However, in fact, Grandpa Niu's daughter-in-law does not exist, the grandson is borrowed, and the son does not suffer from cancer at all, but he suffered a back injury while working before, and has since recovered.
The main reason why these elderly people are selected by the institution is because of the fast monetization of the live broadcast of the elderly. Many MCN agencies will go to remote areas specifically to find suitable elderly people as anchors, using their images and stories to attract the attention and sympathy of the audience. However, these institutions don't really care about the physical and mental health of the elderly, and only use them as a tool to make money.
For these seniors, live streaming may not be a good thing. First of all, live streaming requires standing and talking for a long time, which is a burden on the body and voice of the elderly. Second, older people tend to be less knowledgeable about products than younger people, and they may lose the trust of their audience because they can't accurately describe the product's features. Finally, the elderly often need to face various questions and criticisms from netizens in live streaming, which also has a great impact on their mental health.
Therefore, we should pay attention to the physical and mental health of the elderly and not let them become a money-making tool for institutions. At the same time, we should also be vigilant, not moved by the stories of some elderly anchors, but to look at the business model of live streaming rationally.