Summary of the Core Content
This article seemingly discusses the hot gossip about a woman in Changsha who confronts a 4-year-old boy and ends up being banned by the entire internet community. In reality, it exposes a dysfunctional and exploitative gray traffic industry that has become prevalent on the internet: one where people deliberately target the weak, create conflicts, and post anti-intellectual remarks to provoke debates and gain followers, turning “negative attention” into money. This not only wastes the attention of the entire internet but also squeezes out legitimate public spaces for rights protection.
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Detailed Explanation of Each Point
1. Don’t Mistake “Targeting the Weak” for “Standing Up for Rights”
Many people mistakenly think that those who engage in provocative behavior are actually standing up for their rights. However, there is a huge difference between the two:
True rights advocacy involves ordinary people challenging powerful or dominant entities, such as when someone sued Disney for not allowing outside food, which led to changes in the park’s rules that benefited all visitors. In contrast, the woman in this case targeted vulnerable individuals like housekeepers and taxi drivers, who had no way to fight back. She deliberately made small issues into big ones, not for the sake of rights but to gain attention through bullying. This has nothing to do with genuine activism.
2. Why Is “Provoking Anger” the Most Cost-Effective Way to Gain Followers?
In the past, making short videos to gain followers required skills in editing, filming, and creativity, with significant effort and possibly only a few thousand views. The current approach of “provoking anger” is much easier: no effort is needed. Just say something that would anger most people, and hundreds or thousands will comment on your video, increasing its visibility and quickly gaining followers. For example, the woman in this case gained 250,000 likes by arguing with a taxi driver and 32,000 followers by causing a fuss with a 4-year-old child. The efficiency of gaining followers is almost cost-free.
3. “Negative Attention” Is Also Valuable in the Traffic Industry
Many wonder how one can make money with a bad reputation. The reality of the traffic business is that businesses and platforms only care about the number of followers and video views, not the quality of one’s reputation. Even if 30,000 of your followers are criticizing you, a few of them might buy something during a live stream, and advertisers are willing to pay for ads. For instance, Sun Yuchen, despite his notorious reputation, continues to have a large following and generates revenue from his cryptocurrency and investment projects because of his traffic.
4. This Kind of Competition Leads to No Winners
The short-video industry has become extremely competitive, with the focus on gaining followers at any cost. No one wants to spend months creating high-quality content; instead, people compete to be the most unethical. This leads to a cycle where everyone loses: ordinary users waste time on meaningless conflicts, while important news about rights struggles is overshadowed by gossip. Platforms also suffer, constantly dealing with fraudulent accounts.
5. Don’t Become Free Laborers for This Traffic Business
People often want to stand up for justice when they see such behavior. However, every comment, like, and even just a brief glance at such content helps the creator gain more traffic and money. The best way to deal with it is to ignore it. Without traffic, these creators won’t continue to produce such garbage. The more you react to their behavior, the more they will produce it.
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This analysis provides a clear understanding of the exploitative nature of the current internet traffic industry and the negative consequences it has for both users and the platforms that rely on it.