Is there something special about watching other people chew ice online?
What makes this new craze rather interesting for the viewers is probably the sound these bloggers and vloggers make in their videos when they chew on sculpted ice. However, the design of the ice itself seems to also fascinate the viewers as they can come in almost all different shapes, sizes and even colors, according to Daily Mail.
Screenshot via YouTube
Before shooting the video or live-streaming how they eat it, vloggers would often carefully make their own mini ice sculptures. They would then film themselves biting and chewing the awesome looking sculptures that can apparently attract more than one million views.
Screenshot via YouTube
CGTN reported that even a simple 10-second clip of someone biting into an ice sculpture can rake in one million views on Chinese social media. People somehow find visual and auditory satisfaction when they watch someone do this craze, the report noted.
Some of these streamers record an “Ice Crunch” video everyday – even in the cold of winter.
Screenshot via YouTube
China’s live-streaming industry is, without a doubt, stressful, but affords opportunities too enticing to not try the Ice Crunch challenge.
Screenshot via YouTube
According to a report that Xinhua posted in December 2017, the country’s live-streaming industry is expected to reach around $4.4 billion in revenue this 2018, which is up by 86% from its record in 2016. On a worldwide scale, though, the industry is expected to hit $7.4 billion in revenue.
Screenshot via CGTN
Live-streaming director of Tunshou Entertainment in China, Tai Zi, said that these streamers usually earn their money from the tips that fans give them as well as from the virtual gifts they receive. Websites also often give commission to the online performers – or online celebrities called wang hong – based on the number of clicks they draw to the site.
Screenshot via CGTN
“A good live-streaming entertainment host could easily earn one million yuan (£114,000) a month,” the director told the publication.
The chance to earn this much money can blind anyone who want to give this career field a try, but it’s important to take note that one has to put in a lot of hard work to achieve this kind of fame.
For some people, the live-streaming industry may be stressful and hard, but for others, it helps expose a way of life or even find the love of your life, like one paralyzed streamer.
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