从媒介物质性视角分析中国虚拟主播产业现状

Situation Analysis of Chinese Virtual Streamer Industry from the View of Media Materiality

摘要: 5G等中国新基建投资潮，使新兴的中国虚拟主播经济更加引人注目。本文基于媒介物质性的视角，归纳虚拟主播及其市场消费者即“二次元”群体的特征，揭示其消费逻辑及其与虚拟主播的关联性，剖析虚拟主播的媒介特质，探讨中国虚拟主播业发展前景。研究表明：虚拟主播兼顾了技术主导与人主导二者的优势，具备高度互动性及符号化特征，二次元市场消费者青睐的角色消费模式之消费路径是先有角色后有故事，角色的消费基于故事之上。虚拟主播产业符合二次元和偶像经济的消费逻辑，中国发达地区快节奏的经济社会生活条件是其快速发展的重要因素。虽然目前在中国活动的主流虚拟主播主要来自日本，本土虚拟主播刚起步，但是其市场具可期待的发展空间。

Abstract: With the help of emerging trends in infrastructure investing, particularly in relation to building 5G equipment, the virtual streamer economy is becoming more attractive in China. Based on the view of media materiality, the article generalises virtual streamers’ market and user features, uncovers consumption logic of the users who are called “nijigen”, discovers the relationship between users and virtual streamer, analyses the feature of virtual streamer as a medium, and discusses the development and future of Chinese virtual streamer. The research shows that the virtual streamer holds both advantages of technology dominance and humanity dominance. The virtual streamer as a new form of media is highly symbolic and interactive, the “nijigen” users are consumed by following the logic of character economy, which means the roles come first and then the stories follow the roles, but the character economy will have developed from the story economy. The virtual streamer industry follows the logic of both idol and nijigen economy consumption. In China’s developed areas the highly developed economic and social life combined with high stress is the reason why idols and virtual streamers are developing. Even in China the mainstream virtual streamer comes from Japan and the Chinese local virtual streamer economy has just only started, but the market still has great potential.