Warning: This article contains discussion of addiction which some readers may find distressing.
A Chinese man gave an influencer over $500,000 in a year, despite surviving on nothing but plain steamed buns.
Identified only as Hong, this man from Ningbo, located in the Zhejiang region of southeastern China, has been mocked online for his obsession with a live-streaming platform.
After joining this platform, he became particularly devoted to a ‘key opinion leader’ (KOL), described by Melt Water as an influential figure who can shape public opinions about topics, products, or services.
Hong used up his own funds and then his family’s savings to support this influencer before resorting to stealing from his family’s business to fuel his addiction.
His journey began earlier in the year. Initially, he used his own money, moved on to the family savings until they intervened in May, and started stealing copper materials from his family’s hardware business.
Hong took the stolen copper to trade it for cash at a recycling center.
He stole copper over 40 times from May until October 15, leading to a total value of $316,000, prompting the factory to notice the missing materials.
The factory reported the theft to the local authorities, only to discover the culprit was their son.
What was the one word Hong wanted to hear from the streamer?
According to the South China Morning Post, Hong explained: “I didn’t want to meet her; I just wanted to hear her call me ‘brother.’”
Chinese social media users criticized him, with one remarking: “Four million yuan for a single word, ‘Brother’? Maybe he should see a psychiatrist.”
Another suggested: “If you just want to hear it, why not record it and play it on repeat?”
Criticizing someone for an addiction feels inappropriate to me. You wouldn’t judge someone with alcoholism harshly; you’d likely empathize, as you would for someone struggling with drug addiction.
The difference is substance abuse is often visible, while behavioral addictions can go unnoticed – while it might seem strange that someone would steal to tip an influencer, theft to support an addiction is not new… that’s the nature of addiction.
This topic resonates with me as I’m a recovering gambling addict, although March will mark four years since I stopped.
If addiction has impacted you and you need someone to talk to confidentially, you can reach out to American Addiction Centers at (888) 324-0595, available 24/7, or visit their website.