The Japanese portal myjitsu shared an article narrating the experience of a subject addicted to drugs VTubers in Japan, which ended up going into debt practically for life just to donate that money to the girls of the Internet. In her words, “I felt pleasure seeing the reactions of the VTubers when they saw their donations.”
«VTubers have established themselves as a new form of entertainment in recent years. However, there is always a shadow when there is so much light, and behind the successful careers of VTubers today, there are also some people who have seen their lives ruined. This time we spoke with “Mr. A”, a nickname to keep his identity hidden, a man in his thirties who became so addicted to VTubers content that he did not think twice about taking out a bank loan.».
«The subject commented: “I got hooked on VTubers content earlier this year. I started because I considered myself unpopular with women and I had no relationship with any, so I really need communication with someone of the opposite sex. I had always liked 2D things, and I had always been reticent about real women, so VTubers were an easy approach on my part. Furthermore, the feeling of chatting with a woman was irresistibly pleasant and satisfied my needs to the fullest.“».
«However, “Mr. A” gradually became addicted to consuming this type of content produced by VTubers. The subject commented: “In the world of streaming there is a custom of donations, which consists of giving electronic money to those who star in the broadcasts. Little by little I became addicted to this content, and I was very happy to receive a response from the VTuber every time I sent her a donation. The amounts start at a few hundred yen, and gradually increase to thousands of yen and then up to ten thousand yen (about $67). The greater the amount she donated, the greater the VTuber’s reaction, so she felt a sense of accomplishment and superiority. Eventually I found myself investing most of my salary in it, and even allocated part of my monthly expenses to this activity.”».
«VTubers have constantly been categorized as “virtual cabaret girls”, and a similar effect generally occurs in real life, where men spend quite a bit of money for the attention of the girl of their interest. In this way, the life of “Mr. A” was marked forever: “At first, the reactions to the VTuber’s donations gave me pleasure, but since I was working part-time, my own income slowly began to fall short, and I began to cut back on the little savings I had to live on my own. “I often asked my mother to make me some rice balls for me to eat at work.”».
«Unfortunately, his addiction eventually led him to ruin his life with a bank loan.. “I felt invincible now with so much money available, so the amount of donations I made increased quickly. However, I soon began to fall behind on payments, and had to take out another loan, so I ended up paying Bank A with the money I borrowed from Bank B. Obviously this couldn’t go on for long, and eventually a letter arrived at my door, and that’s when my family finally found out what was happening.”».
«The man gave up and honestly explained the situation to his family. Their His parents seemed stunned, but his father, a strict civil servant, agreed to pay his debts with part of his retirement savings on the condition that he never do anything like that again. It is said that the amount amounted to about 6 million yen (more than 40 thousand dollars). The subject commented: “I used to laugh at people who went bankrupt because of their gambling addictions or at women who worked in cabarets, but I never thought something like that would happen to me. It can be said that the VTuber culture is a bottomless pit where it is easy to enter, but eventually it is increasingly difficult to get out. I’m tired of VTubers, and now I plan to pay off the debt I owe to my parents, even if it takes me a lifetime. Nowadays, watching VTubers commercials on the Internet or on television makes me feel depressed”».
Fountain: myjitsu
