The place in China with the highest concentration of streamers in the world

Thousands of young people in China want to be 'streamers', to make a living from content shared on social media platforms. The activity is such that it gives rise to dystopian images: there is a place in China where dozens and dozens of people are constantly broadcasting live. But why do they all film from the same place?

In principle, the information suggests that this super popular place for filming content is on a bridge in Shanghai. Why do so many streamers make a pilgrimage to this place? The image has recently gone viral: dozens of young people with their lighting devices broadcasting live outside the comfort of their homes.

Photo: Twitter - Naomi Wu

Some media described these young women as 'cyber beggars', as if they were beggars on the streets asking for spare change.

Photo: Twitter - Naomi Wu

In the images that Naomi Wu shared on Twitter, one can see that the street streamers of Shanghai dress without covering up despite the cold, as if they were pretending to be at home.

Photo: Twitter - Naomi Wu

All kinds of content is created in the middle of the street: karaoke, makeup tutorials, bizarre videos, current affairs on the Internet or AMSR.

Photo: Twitter - Naomi Wu

Obviously, it is not a place to make adult content, not only because of the presence of hundreds of perplexed people watching the show, but also because the weather is not ideal for shedding clothes.

Photo: Twitter - Naomi Wu

Naomi Wu, a well-known content creator, was the one who explained the reason why this great outdoor office for streamers arose.

Photo: Twitter - Naomi Wu

The reason for working at the bridge is that in China streaming platforms allow users to search locally using geolocation.

Photo: Twitter - Naomi Wu

The immediate vicinity of the catwalk where these streamers are located is in a high-class neighborhood, with neighbors with high purchasing power, which leads to users with higher salaries and, therefore, better donations. In other words, more income.

Is it worth the effort, the cold and everything that this job implies? It looks like it is. As Naomi Wu points out, the income that some of these streamers have is very high.

Photo: Twitter - Naomi Wu

Many of these late-night streamers have normal day jobs, so the effort to record content is multiplied.

And what about security? We are talking about teenagers using equipment on the streets that, in some cases, is worth thousands of dollars.

Photo: Twitter - Naomi Wu

The reality is that the group that gathers daily is so large, exceeding a hundred, that it would be very difficult for any criminal to escape, says Naomi Wu.

Photo: Twitter - Naomi Wu

In addition, there is a very high police presence in that area. In fact, the police usually tell young streamers that they have to stop their activity, but at the moment there are no known arrests for filming on the street, according to Naomi Wu.

Photo: Twitter - Naomi Wu

To understand this phenomenon, one must first know the importance of influencer work in Chinese society and the boom it has brought to the country in recent years.

So much so that the Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College School came to offer a three-year degree to be an influencer. Subjects such as fashion, communication, audiovisual editing or style were some of those that are taught in this successful course.

Photo: Unsplash - Jana Shnipleson

Yes, there was a time when 'Black Mirror' was fiction, but reality has long since trumped dystopian fantasies. .

Photo: Black Mirror - Netflix