In a recent livestream event on a popular platform, a male host, who claims to help resolve issues related to family, marriage, and relationships, emotionally counseled a viewer expressing her distress. Moved by the host’s guidance, the viewer offered to sell her jade at a discount to his fans in gratitude. Encouraged by the host, viewers quickly jumped at the opportunity, including Wang Ting’s mother from Jiangxi, who has reportedly spent over 100,000 yuan after two years of devotion to this host, only to receive low-quality items in return.
Wang Ting shared with The Legal Daily that her mother has become almost obsessed with this host, and despite her attempts to intervene, her mother remains unwavering in her belief that the host is benevolent. Similarly, Zhang Jian from Shanghai expressed his frustration over his father, who after retiring, became captivated by livestreams and ended up losing 500,000 yuan of his pension to a female host, all while he was guided through the gifting process.
Both Wang Ting and Zhang Jian are navigating the difficult path of seeking justice for their elderly parents. They face the challenge of not only dealing with the financial losses but also helping their parents overcome the addiction to the livestreams that have ensnared them. While platforms have mechanisms to prevent minors from making unauthorized purchases, there are no such protections in place for elderly users, which has raised concerns among families.
Experts suggest that older individuals are drawn into these livestreams partly due to their quest for emotional support, exacerbated by loneliness and the lack of protective measures on the platforms. It is essential for families to provide care and for platforms to enhance supervision, particularly aimed at vulnerable seniors who may not have the cognitive capacity to make sound judgments.
Wang Ting described her mother’s idolization of the host, who streams daily to provide supposed solutions to viewers’ problems. Many elderly women, like Wang’s mother, found themselves connecting on an emotional level, and it became increasingly difficult for them to recognize the exploitative tactics used by the host.
Zhang Jian pointed out that his father’s deep admiration for the host made him unable to see the manipulation at play. The host employed tactics that altered his father’s perspective, leading him to believe he was helping the host by gifting her money. Zhang described how the situation escalated to a point where his father’s previously frugal nature vanished, replaced by reckless spending on unnecessary gifts.
In interviews, both children expressed their desire to protect their parents, yet they recognize the challenge of breaking this cycle of dependency. As these adults attempt to advocate for their parents’ rights, they also confront the emotional pain of being misunderstood, with elders often seeing their children’s attempts to intervene as obstacles to their happiness.
Legal experts have commented on the lack of protections for elderly users, emphasizing that while there are laws regarding minors and those unable to make informed decisions, older adults fall into a gray area. This highlights the urgent need for platforms to establish refund mechanisms for those who have been misled, underscoring the importance of social responsibility in preventing exploitation.
Both Wang Ting and Zhang Jian are hopeful for solutions that will not only help retrieve lost funds but also reintegrate their parents into healthier lifestyles. They emphasize that the addiction to these livestreams is more than just a financial issue; it is a complex social problem rooted in a lack of companionship and support from family.
As the conversation around this issue continues to grow, advocates for elderly rights call for stricter regulations on platforms promoting these types of interactions, particularly those that involve emotional manipulation and financial exploitation.
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