Though halfway around the globe, the Orient and North 'Merica (extra Trump) have a lot in common. Among the commonalities is cellphone addiction, and it's something I noticed astutely while shoving my way through one of Shanghai's 14 subway lines. (Sidenote: despite having 14 subway lines and being crowded, I found the subways in Shanghai very straight forward to use compared to the likes of New York and Toronto. Kudos to the urban planners of Shanghai.)
It seemed that everyone in the Orient had a phone and was on it constantly. And, they go to great lengths to ensure they can be on phones. There were a few rainy days during my trip (not many, thankfully), and it was on those days I noticed this phenomena. I try to spend rainy days indoors for the most part; Mr. Fucking Randy wears some pretty nice kicks, so it's best to keep his feet away from puddles and spit.
Anyways, during those rainy days, locals rode their mopeds while draped in raincoats. Nothing too out of the ordinary, right? Some even had decked out umbrellas made specifically for mopeds, which keeps the rider 'slightly' dryer and doubles as a driving distraction.
However, not every rider in Shanghai has the luxury of purchasing said moped umbrella, so they had to make do with over-sized raincoats. Perched atop an apartment complex with a hot cup of green tea cuddled in my hands, I gazed at an intersection, watching these daredevils swarm the pavement, making quick lefts and rights. I looked at those speedsters closely and noticed something; most only had one hand on the moped handlebars. The other hand was holding a cellphone, and both hand and phone were covered with a single, loose-leafed, clear Ziploc bag so that they could play with their phone without getting water damage! These riders are going faster than 40km/h on busy streets and it's fucking raining; playing on a phone while riding only adds to the chaos. What the fuck? How are they able to do this?
"It's them slitty-eyes!" said Burgundy, with a 'Vote Trump' button pinned to his lapel. "They can see out of them corners!"
"Racist!" cried Sitch. (Ironically, when Sitch cries, his eyes turn all 'slitty' as well.)
What are these locals doing on their phones to justify this behaviour? We all know about the dangers of using a phone while driving. In fact, someone I know recently got ticketed for driving while operating a mobile device and was penalized three demerit points and $490.
"... Steep," said Tree Bone.
However, crack-down on using a mobile device while driving (or riding) is pretty relaxed in the Orient. So, everyone continues to do it without a care in the world. But again, what are these locals doing on their phones?
I went to investigate and started asking people what they did the most on their phones. Was it emailing? Texting? Swiping left? What is so addicting about their phones that they couldn't even set it down when riding a moped in the rain?
"Live video feeds," said most of them.
Remember how everyone in 'Merica was nuts about Real World, Survivor, the Amazing Race and Jersey Shore?
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| On Burgundy's mahogany DVD shelf. |
"Jeah! I love Jersey!" said Burgundy.
Those were all dubbed 'Reality Television', right? Well, apparently the 'big thing' right now in the Orient is live video feeds. Locals log onto an app and either (1) watch live streams of other people, or (2) start a live stream of themselves for others to watch. These can be everyday people, not necessarily celebrities or well known individuals.
"What are they streaming?" I asked.
Absolutely anything. If you want to watch live feeds, the app will show you what is trending, which channels are the most watched, etc. It includes most other social media features too, such as following certain channels, filtering channels... you get the gist. Most surprisingly though, the app allows you to make payments to the people providing the live streams, and the app will show which channels are receiving the most money. That's right, folks; when you broadcast yourself on a live stream, you can accept e-payments from viewers.
This Japanese girl, for example, streams live video of herself eating loads upon loads of food. She's a massive sensation (and stuffs down ridiculous amounts of food, might I add). The video below is sped up, but it was recorded live.
A local once told me that she was having a very, very bad day, and she logged onto the live streaming app and watched a feed of this woman she follows. Apparently she felt better after watching the feed, so she sent the woman 10,000 RMB (that's $2,000 CDN). Insane, no?
"You have to remember: just because it's crowded here, doesn't mean everyone's stimulated," said another local. "People here still live their daily lives in routine, and they want to escape reality and see something new. I think that's what live streaming can do. It's real, it's live, and people want to watch it in case they miss something."
I asked if the most viewed/paid content includes hot girls (I figured it would), but I was surprised to hear that it was not. Sometimes it's the most random videos and personalities that get attention.
Admittedly, I thought this live stream feed was a bit ridiculous. But then I discovered that Japanese girl who eats loads of food on Youtube. Watching her eat all that food is addicting, and I could see the appeal of seeing it live in action.
Either way, there is a market for this type of entertainment, and there are definitely people cashing in on it. I for one have yet to figure it out, but it's nice to know that the content people are streaming in public places may not be pornography after all.
"Speak for yourself," said Dick Burns.
Wise words, Dick.
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