Original title: The halo of the big factory attracts the Internet content reviewers and all living beings eat the meal of youth and endure the deepest night
On the first working day after the Spring Festival in 2022, a news that "the head of the audit team at Station B died suddenly after working overtime" caused heated discussions in the society.
The behind-the-scenes profession of "Internet Auditor" has also been pushed into the spotlight.
The Red Star Capital Bureau found that the status quo of Internet auditors is also a microcosm of the growth of an industry.
Under the influence of huge user volume, massive content information, fierce platform competition and other factors, the working hours of auditors have been extended to 24 hours, and the workload has also greatly increased.
"Have the ability to withstand pressure and accept the shift system", almost all of the recruitment conditions for Internet content review positions.
On February 9, the Red Star Capital Bureau interviewed the auditors and managers of Internet companies such as Tencent and ByteDance, and tried to restore the real status quo of the auditor industry from their mouths.
he said satisfied
7-8 days off every month, there is a subsidy for night shifts, the company also reimburses the fare for taxis after 10 pm, overtime wages are calculated at 1.5 times the usual rate, and there is a housing allowance of 500 yuan if you live near
she said she was tired
■After working all night, my feet are light, "I have no energy, and I feel a little nauseated."
The review time is long, and there will be psychological shadows on some attacks, abuse and bloody violence.
people
Saturated workload, mechanized operation mode, repetitive work content, satisfactory salary package
"Pressure resistance" is a general requirement
Implement the final elimination system
At 8 o'clock in the morning, Wang Sisi, a content reviewer at Tencent, finished her work. This is her third "overnight shift" in a row.
Walking out of the office building, Wang Sisi felt light under her feet. "I'm not in good spirits, and I feel a little nauseated." She was used to the feeling after working all night.
After graduating from college in 2019, Wang Sisi came to a second-tier city to find a job, and was attracted by the aura of the "Internet giant Tencent". She joined a subsidiary of Tencent and became an "Internet content auditor".
"Reviewing netizens' comments", Wang Sisi's work is not complicated.
Sitting in front of the workstation, turn on the computer, log in to the account, and the background shows the content that needs to be reviewed. Wang Sisi will quickly and skillfully "scan" it, and then keep clicking "Recommend, Limit, Delete".
The processed comments usually involve negative, vulgar, abusive and other content, and the company already has a set of mature audit standards.
Even so, Wang Sisi was still tense and did not dare to relax, "Once any leakage is detected and we complain to the auditor, we will be deducted points and performance."
In addition to "quality assurance", the audit work is more important to "quantity assurance", and the monthly audit volume is an important part of Wang Sisi's performance.
"We implement the last-place point elimination system. If the performance is too poor, it will be persuaded to be dismissed by the HR interview."
"Everyone wants high performance, so they will keep rushing upward. The set KPIs are constantly broken, and the next KPIs will continue to be raised," said Wang Sisi.
Auditors who do not want to be beaten for low performance are caught in a state of "involution".
The ever-faster pace of work made Wang Sisi feel a little "tired", and at the same time, she had to adapt to the constant shift work.
"The morning shift is from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, and the evening shift is from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm. There will be two overnight shifts in a month. We are most afraid of overnight shifts, which will be very difficult," Wang Sisi said.
"Overnight shifts" generally start at 10:00 pm and end at 8:00 am the next day, with a 3-hour break in between.
Often on the second all-night shift, Wang Sisi would feel nauseated and vomited. She was worried about her body problems, so she would put down the mouse to rest for a while, and then resume her work.
"The most uncomfortable thing is the days after the overnight shift. The whole person's work and rest are reversed, and he can't sleep in the middle of the night."
After working all night, Wang Sisi often suffers from insomnia, her eyesight has also deteriorated greatly, frozen shoulder and lumbar muscle strain are common problems among colleagues.
Compared with the physical fatigue, Wang Sisi felt that the psychological pressure made her "breathless".
"The review time is too long, and there will be psychological shadows on some attacks, abuse and bloody violence." Looking at these content, Wang Sisi often feels that she is also suffering from online violence. She remembered a long time ago, when a female colleague worked an all-night shift, After reviewing the horror video, psychological barriers have arisen since then.
"Have the ability to withstand pressure and accept the shift system", almost all of the recruitment conditions for Internet content review positions.
College students and 985 graduates are available
Attracted by the "big factory halo"
On January 9, 2019, the China Online Audio-Visual Program Service Association released the "Online Short Video Platform Management Specification" and "Online Short Video Content Review Standard Rules", which means that the Internet platform review needs to be more detailed and wider, and the review team should be expanded. It has become an urgent need of major companies.
Sun Xun, who graduated from 985, and Tang Sen, who graduated from college, joined the content reviewer position under this background.
Looking back on the days when he was a content reviewer at ByteDance three years ago, Sun Xun's impression is not good.
After graduating from graduate school, Sun Xun, who studied a small language, entered the Beijing ByteDance job and was responsible for the content review of an information APP.
Compared with shift work, Sun Xun was most impressed by the "heavy workload".
"(Department) will set a workload that everyone can't touch, and make your work very saturated," Sun Xun said.
Over time, the saturated workload, mechanized operation methods, and repetitive work content made Sun Xun feel like a machine.
"The most important thing is that this job has no future." Five months later, Sun Xun submitted a resignation application.
Another content reviewer of ByteDance, Tang Sen, left at about the same time as Sun Xun. "This job is to eat youth food."
Tang Sen was also attracted by the halo of the Internet giant. She likes to play Douyin and is full of expectations for the work of ByteDance.
When working as a content reviewer, Tang Sen's department has a daily review volume of 200-300 pieces, and the workload of other departments is 500-600 pieces.
At that time, the division of labor had not yet been refined. Townsend had to review videos, pictures, titles, details page text, and e-commerce advertisements.
Tang Sen can still adapt to such a work intensity, but the overnight shifts 5-6 times a month made her a little overwhelmed, and she finally chose to leave.
On February 7, Tang Sen saw the news that "the head of the audit team at Station B died suddenly after working overtime", and felt sorry, "Taking care of your body is the most important thing."
Even so, Townsend felt that this job also had a good side, and the salary and benefits given by the Internet company were not many.
"The salary is more than 6,000 yuan, and overtime is also subsidized." At that time, she had just graduated from college, and this income was enough for her to live in the city.
Wang Sisi also mentioned that Tencent's content reviewer positions are divided by rank, and the salary is usually 5,000-10,000 yuan, as well as performance pay and holiday overtime pay, "Compared to the review positions of other Internet companies, our salary is quite high. ".
Satisfied with his salary is also Liu Licheng, an advertising reviewer of ByteDance's advertising service platform Judaqianchuan.
Liu Licheng's job is to check whether video advertisements violate the regulations in accordance with the provisions of the Advertising Law.
Compared with content review, which needs to face complex information, the work content of advertising review is much "simple".
"7-8 days off every month, there is a subsidy for night shifts, and the company reimburses the taxi fare after 10 p.m. The overtime pay is calculated at 1.5 times the usual rate, and there is a housing allowance of 500 yuan if you live near it", Liu Licheng Counting the company's benefits, he is very satisfied with the monthly salary of about 8,000 yuan.
industry
Labor-intensive industry, huge user volume, massive content information, fierce platform competition
"Online factory assembly line"
AI is intervening, and it is difficult to replace in the short term
Compared with the complex attitude of the auditor, Deng Jun, who is in the audit management position, thinks further.
Deng Jun, who has extensive Internet work experience, currently manages a content review department in a leading Internet company with dozens of employees.
When the Red Star Capital Bureau asked about the characteristics of the content review position, Deng Jun said: "This position has no characteristics, it is a labor-intensive industry, which is the biggest characteristic."
In Deng Jun's view, content review is not an emerging profession spawned by the Internet, it also exists in some traditional industries.
However, the development of the mobile Internet has indeed promoted the outbreak of the audit industry.
"Nowadays, the speed of information dissemination is faster and the content is more, and the platform should take the main responsibility to filter out harmful content and purify the network environment. Therefore, setting up a content review post is a core and critical step."
"Why is the content review post required to work in shifts, because users also publish information at night," Deng Jun said.
The status quo of Internet auditors is also a microcosm of the growth of an industry.
Under the influence of huge user volume, massive content information, fierce platform competition and other factors, the working hours of auditors have been extended to 24 hours, and the workload has also greatly increased.
Deng Jun, who has worked in the audit management post for nearly three years, feels that the audit industry is actually at the lowest end of the Internet, with low value recognition, extremely low threshold, and no technical accumulation.
"Many Internet companies will outsource the entire content review business, just like an online factory assembly line. But the good thing is that the salary and benefits of the Internet are generally good, and the working atmosphere is good for young people." Deng Deng Army said.
In addition, the Internet censorship industry has also provided a large number of jobs for some new first-, second-, and third-tier cities to meet local employment needs.
Red Star Capital Bureau searched the Internet company name + audit position on the recruitment platform and found that many Internet platforms have audit centers in Tianjin, Jinan, Xi'an, Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan and other cities.
According to LatePost, the number of ByteDance reviewers in early 2021 has exceeded 20,000.
It is worth mentioning that the current low-end, repetitive review work may soon be replaced by AI technology.
In July 2019, Toutiao announced the official launch of a new version of the "Ling Dog" anti-vulgar assistant.
In September 2020, Xiaohongshu added a review mode of "multi-dimensional algorithm model" to the "Woodpecker" program.
Kuaishou has also already applied AI technology to content review.
"But in the short term, AI technology cannot completely replace manual review, and the platform still needs to rely on human experience and judgment to screen content," Deng Jun told the Red Star Capital Bureau.
Whether the status quo of the work of Internet moderators can be rapidly improved remains an open question.
(At the request of the interviewee, the above are pseudonyms)
Chengdu Commercial Daily-Red Star News reporter Yu Yaoqiang Yaxian