China’s toy video hosts keep lonely children company ... by posting film of themselves playing with toys
With 23 million active web users under 10 in China, the toy video business is booming as youngsters tune in to their favourite hosts playing with toys on dedicated channels via platforms such as Tencent Video, iQiyi and Youku
Aimolier places a thumb-sized Ms Strawberry on a tiny stool. She finishes decorating the toy’s bedroom with a miniature perfume bottle. “This is Ms Strawberry’s room,” she tells her viewers, before introducing Mr Durian, Mr Pineapple and Mr Pear.
Aimolier (a pseudonym) is one of many popular video hosts in China catering to a rapidly growing audience of young children. The broadcasts, in which hosts simply play with toys, have quietly become some of the most viewed content on the internet, with observers attributing their popularity to negligence on the part of parents and schools, leaving children to seek attention and intimacy online.
There are 15 such channels that have each accumulated more than 100 million views. On average, they continue to accrue about three per cent more followers every week.
Their popularity comes as more children gain access to the internet through mobile devices, accessing video platforms such as Tencent Video, iQiyi and Youku. According to data from China Internet Network Information Centre, there are as many as 23 million active web users under the age of 10 in China – equal to the population of Taiwan. The centre says there was an 18.5 per cent increase in the number of active web users younger than 10 last year. Among the country’s 731 million web users, the age group accounted for about 3.2 per cent.
Liu Chun, a producer at Tencent Video, says his company has signed contracts with more than 100 toy video producers in the past two years, to develop more online content for children.