A 70-year-old woman in Shanghai has shocked many after reportedly spending more than 3.3 million yuan (over RM2 million) tipping young male livestreamers within just six months, leaving herself nearly penniless and unable to even pay a small electricity bill.
According to Chinese media reports, the elderly woman, surnamed Jiang, was previously known for being extremely frugal and would even bargain while buying vegetables.
However, everything reportedly changed after she became addicted to watching online livestreams earlier this year.
The woman allegedly became obsessed with two male livestreamers in their 30s — one known for dancing and another for singing.
Fearing her favourite streamers would lose livestream “PK battles” and be punished during broadcasts, Jiang reportedly began spending increasingly large amounts of money on virtual gifts.
Reports stated that she spent around 2.8 million yuan on one dancing streamer alone, while another 500,000 yuan was sent to a singing streamer.
Jiang admitted she was emotionally influenced by livestream moderators and viewers who constantly encouraged fans to support the hosts financially during competitions.
“They kept shouting about uniting together to defeat the other side. I became impulsive,” she reportedly said.
She revealed that one virtual gift called “Peach Blossom Island” cost 3,000 yuan each, and she would sometimes send several at once.
In February alone, she allegedly spent a staggering 940,000 yuan.
The financial losses reportedly wiped out not only her own retirement savings but also money her son had entrusted her to keep over many years.
The situation became so severe that the elderly woman was eventually unable to even afford a 15-yuan household electricity bill.
Her son, who reportedly works far away in western China, said he had no idea about his mother’s spending habits until recently.
Describing the situation as “like living in a nightmare”, he said his mother had always been emotionally vulnerable and easily sympathised with others.
“The livestreamers won, but our whole family lost,” he reportedly said.
Even more worrying, the woman initially did not realise the seriousness of the situation and allegedly planned to continue tipping the streamers once her next pension payment arrived.
After repeated persuasion from her son, Jiang eventually realised the gravity of the problem and attempted to contact the livestreamers to recover some of the money.
However, one streamer reportedly replied coldly: “Let’s maintain a good relationship slowly over time,” before cutting off communication entirely.
The woman has since been diagnosed with depression and anxiety by a mental health centre.
Psychologists reportedly described the case as a typical example of emotional addiction among lonely elderly individuals who become vulnerable to manipulation through online livestream platforms.
Her son has since filed complaints with the streaming platform and reported the matter to police, though it remains unclear whether any of the money can be recovered.
