Influencers are the modern-age marketers as they constantly promote a lifestyle everyone desires. But a recent trend on social media may prove it otherwise. A video from China recently went viral, uncovering a clever side hustle that fits perfectly in the rapidly growing influencer culture.
Feeding in on the ‘FOMO’ [fear of missing out], a woman from China has cracked the code. She reportedly shoots content from viral events, concerts, and shows for people to post on social media and make it appear as if they attended the show.
Being seated close to the stage, they get paid to shoot high-quality content, and it has the Internet stunned. Reacting to the video originally shared by @shenxiao on X (formerly Twitter), which gained over 46 million views, a netizen wrote, “Fakeness evolving faster than tech,” giving a whole new tangent to influencer culture today.
While this may not be a global phenomenon yet, users on social media claimed that acquiring concert tickets in China is especially difficult. Calling it one of the ‘craziest businesses in the world’, several netizens even praised her entrepreneurial spirit, appreciating her ‘side hustle’.
What is engagement farming?
Engagement farming typically refers to the use of such deceptive tactics to artificially boost one’s social media presence. It would include posting clickbait content, artificial engagement, hacking, or sharing inauthentic content, for the sake of views.
Similarly, an ideal client would be someone who couldn’t get access to tickets to a certain show and wants to portray that they attended the event, especially on social media. In this case, the Chinese woman uses her premium seat to get the best photos, creating an illusion that the creator had first-row access for clout, likes, validation, and ultimately, engagement.
‘People are paying someone to fake their presence’: Netizens shocked
“That’s wild. People literally paying someone to fake their presence at events just to boost their social media image—it’s next-level influencer culture. The internet really is a hall of mirrors now,” wrote a user on X, reacting to the viral video.
🔥🚨DEVELOPING: This Chinese woman has left the internet stunned after learning what she is doing with this phone and camera.
There are people paying her to appear as if they are at the concert, users pay someone to take a picture of their TWT profile.
This gives them content… pic.twitter.com/tH94zBMfUP
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) March 24, 2026
“Imagine paying for a ‘POV’ of a life you’re not even living. We are cooked,” felt another social media citizen, shocked at the viral side-hustle. “Just wait … ppl are going to pay for VR ride-alongs where they can live as part of the livestream of someone on vacation,” predicted a user of another dystopian reality.
At the same time, @_kenfernando opined on how Asian culture is predominantly perceived. Trying to rationalise the Chinese side-hustle, they explained how Asians rely heavily on perception and how societal norms apply to different perspectives. “It’s with everything they present,” from military to education, the netizen claimed. “Perception is becoming a service,” another netizen echoed.
“The psychological aspect of ‘likes’ on social media content has been the most detrimental thing to happen to human development, possibly ever,” expressed a concerned user.
Disclaimer: The content in this article is based on a viral social media discussion and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only.