A Chinese man went viral online after he sent $550,000 or 4 million yuan to a streamer so she’d call him “brother.”
The man eventually drained his family’s savings to support his favorite content creator.
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Soon, he resorted to stealing copper materials from his family’s business to continue his addiction. Worse, he had to eat plain steamed buns to survive.
A man’s streamer obsession goes wrong
South China Morning Post reported that the man’s surname is Hong. He hails from Ningbo in Zhejiang province in southeastern China.
He developed an obsession with online live-streaming earlier this year.
Consequently, he started sending money to his favorite female content creator, whose identity remains undisclosed.
Hong drained his family’s savings, so they restricted his access to the funds.
Regardless, he continued his addiction by stealing copper from his family’s hardware trade.
Since May, he’s been taking metal during business deliveries and then selling it to waste recycling stations.
On October 15, 2024, the factory reported a significant quantity of missing copper to the Hengjie police station, suspecting theft.
Eventually, a police investigation caused Hong, accompanied by his family, to surrender to the authorities.
Initially, he confessed to only two recent thefts and denied further involvement.
However, he confessed after authorities confronted him with evidence from his financial transactions.
The man admitted to committing over 40 thefts since May, gathering roughly two to three million yuan or $316,000.
Also, he explained he spent the money to elevate his favorite streamer’s rankings.
Hong explained his motives by saying, “I didn’t want to meet her; I just wanted to hear her call me ‘brother.’”
Also, he revealed that they had to rely on plain steamed buns to sustain himself in financial ruin.
SCMP said authorities arrested Hong on suspicion of theft, and over 1 million yuan was returned to the factory.
Parasocial relationships and streamers
Online streamers are usually regular people who people watch for their appearance, personality and talents.
They can speak with their viewers, who can send them online donations out of admiration and support.
In China, people call streamers “key opinion leaders” (KOLs), and they are highly popular.
As a result, many become online personalities to earn significant amounts of money via tips and virtual gifts.
Online focus group platform iResearch reveals that livestream donations in China reached $19 billion or 140 billion yuan in 2019.
In 2025, that market size may grow to 417 billion yuan or $57 billion.
The streamer trend has been growing worldwide as more people feel isolated and lonely.
They talk to their favorite streamers by sending chat messages.
It’s hard to get noticed as more fans speak to the streamer.
Consequently, they send donations so that their message will stand out.
Eventually, this interaction can make a fan believe that they have a genuine bond with the streamer. Hence, they develop a parasocial relationship.
This Inquirer USA says they occur when people emotionally attach to a media character who does not reciprocate their feelings.
US-based mental health provider Thriveworks says 51% of Americans admitted to having parasocial relationships.
Eventually, these can lead to horrible obsessions, such as the one from China.
The Philippines is also dealing with a mental health crisis due to various factors.
Learn how the country is dealing with this issue here.