Secret behind the chaos of the "rice circle"
For some time, the irrational star-chasing behaviors of fans frequently appearing in the "fan circle" have aroused the attention of all walks of life.
According to the "Research Report on National Minors Internet Usage in 2020" recently released by the Youth Rights Protection Department of the Communist Youth League Central Committee and China Internet Network Information Center, the proportion of Chinese minor netizens participating in fan support has reached 8%.
Another data shows that nearly 15% of "post-00s" fans spend more than 5,000 yuan per month for star chasing.
For their own interests, some groups of organizations induce youths to chase stars without a bottom line, causing these youths to verbally abuse each other on the Internet, stigmatize wars, scrutinize quantity control, and improper consumption. This has created a bad online culture and social phenomenon, and has also misled and eroded the youth’s behavior. Three Views.
Fans tell
Tired?
disappointed?
Awakened?
Why did they escape from the "rice circle"
"The'collapse' may have no casualties, but many people's hearts are broken." Some senior fans described the process of "defaning" in this way.
Despite the pain and entanglement, some people decided to leave.
Why did they escape from the "rice circle"?
What's your mental journey?
The reporter interviewed several former members of the "Rice Circle".
■ Reason 1 "I feel tired and do not love"
"I used to watch the MV because I liked it, but now I want to compete with other fans"
Many of the subjects interviewed by the reporter are senior fans who have been following stars for four or five years or even longer. Their general feeling of leaving the "rice circle" is "tired and unloved."
Xiao Zhang was a member of a star support station.
He left because "work" in the circle takes a lot of time and energy.
"Each event needs to produce promotional materials, prepare aid items, organize fans to participate, etc. There is a lot of work to be done, very detailed, and every item must be digging." In the support meeting, data, voting, frontline, copywriting, and art , Planning, public relations and other groups are clearly defined.
Some fans said: "It's okay to open an advertising company directly."
The pressure to chase stars is increasing.
"I used to watch MVs because I liked them, but now in order to compete with other fans, I have to watch them desperately." Some fans said.
■ Reason 2 I don’t want to be "leeks" anymore
"I can't be a tool for others to show off their wealth and earn money"
Some people deeply understand the pain and absurdity of being "cut leek".
Nowadays, a certain idol group is recruiting for the aid group, requiring applicants for Weibo management positions to raise no less than 1,000 yuan, with a super chat (weibo super topic) level 11 or above; copywriters and art artists are required to raise more than 500 yuan, with a super chat level 10. Above level.
College student Little T has been chasing stars from the fifth grade of elementary school to last year.
Every time an idol returns, she will spend more than 5,000 yuan to support it.
What makes her uncomfortable is that the fans are more and more permeated with the taste of worshipping money, and they are divided into three or six or nine grades based on their monetary strength.
For example, when receiving the aid, you are required to show proof of buying the album, at least 5; the super talk level is at least 7.
"Those who have the money give money, and those who have the money give money, don't invest or spend money, what can you do to prove that you love your brother" is not uncommon.
"Flower cat boy" told reporters that it took her nearly a year to really get rid of the influence of the "meal circle".
"On the day when the support club was closed, I bought all the money in the card for the album, and there was no money left. But I was despised by a rich second-generation next to me. At that moment, I suddenly realized that this is distinguished by money. The high and low circles are very poor, and I cannot be a tool for others to show off their wealth and earn money. At that moment, the aura of the'rice circle' dimmed."
■ Reason 3 Mind control is terrible
"If you continue to mix up like this, you will lose yourself"
Frequent online scolding wars and squatting on each other have made many fans uneasy.
Emotional fans are often black and white, get angry when they say something wrong, and yell at or "human" opponents in public.
"The current'rice circle' is too hostile." "Maruko" sighed, "fans will fight on the Internet because of a sentence, a post or even a detail."
Xiao Li said that in the "fan circle", "attributes" or "fans" (which celebrities like, which celebrities hate, etc.) should be written clearly.
"If a fan likes more than one person, for'Weifan' (only likes one member of a certain group) it is reducing the idol traffic, which is infidelity and will be despised. This kind of mind control is terrible."
Xiao Wang is a sophomore. Last semester, for several nights fighting each other, two subjects were suspended.
After getting the transcript, the former student tyrant suddenly felt like he was soaked in ice water: "I spent so much energy fighting with some senseless people, am I crazy? If I keep on doing this, I will lose myself."
■ Reason 4 The collapse of idols
"I thought he was far away from the world, but later discovered that it was nothing more than that"
"He was so charming when he first debuted. The lyrics are so sunny, and the singing voice is super infectious." Ning Ning was a fan of a well-known actor, but she didn't expect that "Idol" would "collapse" one day.
When negative news came out, Ningning's first feeling was, "It turns out that his personal settings are deceptive."
"I used to think he was a genius who was far from the world and enamored with music, but later discovered that it was nothing more than that." So she decisively got rid of his fans.
Some fans found the contrast between the real character and the commercial character after getting close to the idols, so they turned off.
Xiao M was initially moved by the personality of a certain star "Golden Man".
After following the shoot for a long time, she found that the star would hint that she would give big-name rings and bracelets during the chat; gifts would be rejected if they were placed in ordinary paper bags, but they would be received in seconds if they were placed in international big-name shopping bags.
"I think he is hypocritical and inconsistent with the human setting." Xiao M said, "There are many similar things, which is chilling. Remind myself to stop the loss in time."
In-depth observation
Professional fan artist studio investor
How they "harvested" fans
Why is the "rice circle" star-chaser setting off such a frenzy?
Who is behind the scenes?
Industry insiders believe that most of the young fans who contribute money and work are at the bottom of the "rice circle" and are just "chess pieces" in the game of huge commercial interests.
Under the collusion of professional fans, artist studios, investors and other stakeholders, they are constantly being coerced and "harvested."
■ Push Hands One: Professional Fans
"Fen Tou" with rhythm to manipulate fans
The reporter's survey found that many middle school students' fans are good students and beloved children in the hearts of teachers and parents.
But as soon as "brother" (fans' name for idols) was involved, they changed their appearances.
"The logic of the traffic economy is that the higher the traffic, the greater the commercial value. In other words, topic level, exposure, and fan activity are the artist's KPIs." Former artist agent Liwen said, "professional fans" and some "fans" As a bridge connecting fans and artist studios, "tou" plays the role of "organizing" and "possessing momentum", exerting pressure on fans and inspiring them to do statistics, rank rankings, and vote for artists.
Under the control of "professional fans", "fan circle" is in endless comparison and competition, comparing actual performance and ranking, "in order to make the rank of'brother' higher, and sign a better commercial brand. Get better video resources".
Ji Weimin, a professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the "fan circle" has the characteristics of strong organization, high efficiency, and systematization, and its actions are uniform and require extreme loyalty from fans.
"Some'fantou' use MLM-like techniques of'fan abuse' to strengthen fans' sense of mission to protect idols, induce fans to increase consumption, increase energy input, and make'fantou' and'professional fans' profitable When the group activities develop to a certain stage, fans will produce extreme and irrational behaviors under the influence of emotions and the environment, such as fierce online curse wars, collective actions, etc., and lose common sense and rationality." Ji Weimin said.
In addition to mind control, it is difficult for the bottom fans to get rid of material control.
Li Wen said that the "professional fans" installed by the artist company often "abuse fans" with a rhythm, deliberately pull and compare maliciously, brainwash fans, increase the stickiness of the "meal circle", and stimulate fans to invest.
For example, "If you don't have money, don't mention love", "If you don't work hard to do data, the future of'brother' will be ruined in your hands" and so on.
Ji Weimin said that not only is the high cost of support far beyond the affordability of minors, but also the concept of pursuing amount and ostentation can mislead minors’ consumption, money, and values, and affect minors’ moral judgments.
■ Push Hands Two: Artist Studio
"Everything depends on the flow"
Behind the madness of the "fan circle" is closely related to the operating mode of the artist studio.
Li Wen, the head of a film and television company, Lu Fan, and other people in the circle said that most artist studios are operated by the artist's family and lack modern corporate management experience.
The staff in many studios are not professional enough and have a lot of arrogance.
Relying on the fame and money gained by traffic stars in the short-term, they stimulated and condoned the expansion psychology of artists, attracted "fans" and "professional fans" to control the "rice circle" to make money for them, and frequently broke through moral and legal boundaries. .
In the eyes of some artist management teams, in all circles that look at traffic, "one point depends on hard work, nine points depends on marketing", "lie in the hot search pool for a few times, and a pig can take off."
"Helping artists to think about their acting skills and practice singing skills is far inferior to frying CP, buying hot searches, and deleting bad reviews." Lu Fan said that in order to set up artist marketing personnel, the artist team and the support club often have special positions responsible for docking water. Military channels and resources, manipulate public opinion to "rhythm," or eliminate negative comments, or confuse each other, making the entertainment circle and "rice circle" smug.
■ Pushing hands three: capital
Conspiracy to manipulate the "rice circle" in depth
Platforms, investors, and entertainment companies have formed a conspiracy to work together to treat a large number of young fans with no social experience and lack of judgment as “leeks” for money, and induce them to raise funds to support them, use the rankings for data, and increase the commercial value of artists.
After expanding the market, a new round of gold fishing is carried out, and the cycle goes back and forth.
The management is deeply involved in "artist development" and uses the power of fans to "generate power with love" to enhance the commercial value of artists.
Lv Fan used some celebrity development variety shows as examples to analyze. Artists with high traffic flow were selected by platforms, capitalists, and entertainment companies to sign contracts, and then packaged, hyped, injected resources in the circle, and instigated the "rice circle" to create popularity and topicality. Buy fans, buy hot search, increase the commercial value of artists.
Investors will also use the operation of the capital market to make money for the second time.
The star-making assembly line has induced a strong tendency to "harvest". Artists do not win the market with their strength and works, but rely on brainwashing fans' krypton money to alienate the entertainment industry.
According to Xinhua News Agency
Hot comments
How to return the "rice circle" to a clear
For some time, the irrational star-chasing behaviors of fans frequently appearing in the "fan circle" have attracted attention from all walks of life.
Star chasing is understandable, but it becomes a problem if there is no bottom line.
If fans are chasing stars for their professional abilities and personality charm, the young people who constitute the main body of the "rice circle" can be motivated by positive energy, which will help them achieve self-development and identification.
However, the current "fan circle" unilaterally pursues "flow is king" under the influence of the operation and coercion of the platform and commercial capital. For their own interests, some groups of organizations induce youths to chase stars without a bottom line, causing these youths to abuse and stigmatize each other on the Internet. Fighting, scrutiny, and improper consumption have caused unhealthy Internet culture and social phenomena, and have also misled and eroded the three views of young people.
The "rice circle" is clear and clear, and it is necessary to focus on the problem and strike accurately.
Recently, the Central Cyberspace Administration of China has thoroughly cleaned up illegal and unhealthy information related to fan groups. So far, it has cleaned up more than 150,000 negative and harmful information and disposed of more than 4,000 illegal accounts.
The State Administration of Radio and Television has carried out a one-month special investigation and rectification of online variety shows, and issued a notice focusing on the content of online variety shows, the type of subject matter, review voting, guest personnel, topic comments and other key links to put forward management requirements.
The "rice circle" is clear, and the main responsibility of the platform needs to be consolidated.
Online platforms, especially those with a relatively concentrated "fan circle", should take their responsibilities, further establish and improve internal control rules and systems, reduce all kinds of unreasonable celebrity lists, and strictly manage some marketing accounts that promote unhealthy trends on the platform, and take the initiative Filter out harmful content and dispose of bad information.
The "rice circle" is clear and clear, and multi-party governance is needed to form a joint force.
As an idol, we should pursue morality and art to convey positive energy to fans; celebrity management teams and fan clubs should guide everyone to chase stars rationally; at the same time, families and schools should also strengthen education and guidance for young people to help them establish correctness Idol view.