The popularity of micro dramas has spread to the elderly community. Recently, a batch of micro dramas tailored specifically for middle-aged and elderly people have become popular. The plot of "Flash Marriage at Fifty Years Old", "Raising Children Without Defense for Old Age, I am Forced to Reborn", "Fifty Year Old Nanny Marrying a Rich Family", which is ridiculed as a "cheesy" "domineering CEO falling in love with me", is arranged on the elderly in these short dramas, and the degree of "head over head" is not reduced at all. However, these short dramas are not free to watch. Whenever the plot conflicts, such as when the sixty year old female protagonist is about to recognize her long lost biological daughter, the platform will pop up relevant charging prompts. If you want to watch them in the future, you must recharge. As a result, many elderly people who look up to the top often unconsciously deposit money, and some even throw in thousands of yuan a month just to "catch up". At the same time, the payment traps set by micro drama merchants have also been controversial. In theory, these slightly exaggerated or even completely detached plots from real life should be difficult to attract elderly people with rich life experience, but why do the absurd plots of such short dramas make people "dizzy"? How can consumer rights be protected in the face of issues such as lack of transparency in charging prices, inducement of high fees, frequent content shrinkage after recharging, difficulty in refunds, and lack of channels for complaints? The "Boss Short Drama" Crazy Harvest Silver Hair Generation Micro Drama Period: What I mean is, you are my nanny, and I won't let you be bullied by others. I heard today is your birthday, right? The "senior version" of the domineering CEO dotes on the middle-aged "nanny". With just a few lines, the plot has gradually reached its climax. This type of constantly reversing short drama script attracts the attention of elderly audiences. Elderly audience A: The plot is like that of a domineering CEO, which makes it quite enjoyable to watch. Elderly Audience B: Sometimes the plot may suddenly reverse, which can be quite exciting to watch. Elderly audience C: What is a domineering CEO, and I also want to know what kind of life these people have. I sometimes like to look at things that I haven't seen before and are relatively new. The micro drama constantly blows towards the "silver haired generation", and the plot setting of "the domineering CEO falls in love with me" seems to have a sequel for the elderly version. However, there are also cases that show that with the rapid development of the micro drama industry, problems such as inducing elderly people to pay high fees, chaotic charging rules, vulgar and illegal content, and difficulties in safeguarding their rights have also begun to emerge. Some micro drama merchants attract elderly users by offering free binge watching. After a certain number of episodes, they need to pay to watch them, and when recharging, they need to convert them into virtual currency formulated by the merchants themselves. Not only is the cost high, but the exchange rules will also be changed arbitrarily. For example, some elderly viewers thought that unlocking hundreds of coins for a few yuan would allow them to watch the entire series, but they did not expect that this was only the cost of one episode. In addition, there are dazzling packages such as monthly, seasonal, and yearly subscriptions. After watching a micro drama with dozens or even hundreds of episodes, hundreds of yuan will also be spent. Zhao Xin, Director of the Supervision Department of Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission: Our experience investigation found that although some viewing channels explicitly state the required virtual currency for a single episode, on the one hand, the font size is small, and on the other hand, the total number of virtual currencies required for the entire drama is not explicitly stated. Consumers, especially elderly consumers, cannot simply and clearly know the number of episodes that can be unlocked by recharging, and are prone to falling into the trap of repeatedly recharging and recharging multiple times. Why do absurd plotlines make elderly people feel overwhelmed? From the overbearing president to the resentment of the powerful families, these dramas often have exaggerated characters, full unfashionable plots, and the story logic can not stand scrutiny. But these short dramas, which are only a few minutes long, keep the elderly "hooked". Zhang Congcong, Deputy Director of a certain film and television production base: Short dramas belong to the instant recharge and enjoyment type, which is commonly known as the melon seed effect, where you eat one kernel with one melon seed. Just like watching a short drama, watching one will earn you money for another. Creating paid points through constantly setting emotional conflicts and plot suspense is one of the main models for micro dramas to attract users to continue subscribing and earn revenue. Industry insiders told reporters that the filming formula for micro dramas has been summarized in the industry, usually setting a plot twist or climax within 15-20 seconds, leaving suspense in the last 10 seconds of each episode, which is the fastest way to attract the audience's attention. Director Feng Dingyun of a certain micro drama: When we do it, there are probably three big explosive points in one minute, and each episode should have an extreme hook. There is a small exciting point in the early stage, and after the exciting point, we can give the audience a big gap. The payment point must be set here. With the increasingly fierce competition in the micro drama market, relying solely on plot design and visual quality to attract viewers to pay is no longer sufficient to meet the revenue expectations of all parties. A model with higher efficiency turnover is emerging, and the core gameplay is investment flow. Zhang Congcong introduced that the so-called streaming refers to the advertising placement of traffic on short video platforms to increase the exposure of short dramas. Zhang Congcong: Short dramas have eye-catching content, which is an important point for attracting traffic. These captured content are sliced and distributed on these platforms, which will trigger some people to click on them. Once clicked, they will be redirected to the corresponding platform. During the viewing process, suddenly there was an episode that needed to be recharged. At this point, if you want to continue reading, you have to pay. Frequent consumer chaos and strengthened regulation of short dramas have become a consensus. Short dramas output strong emotional value and stimulate emotional resonance among some elderly audiences. Psychological counselor Zhai Juan analyzed that using titles like "Raising a Child Without Preventing Aging, I am Forced to Reborn" as an example, parents' efforts are often overlooked by their children, and these titles precisely cater to the emotional needs of parents. Short dramas have become a supplement to missing companionship and a window to release emotions. However, some micro dramas also have problems such as using the emotional gap of the elderly to induce consumption. For example, some micro dramas do not have clear and detailed usage rules, user instructions, membership agreements, etc. on the recharge interface. Some interfaces even default to selecting the "enable automatic unlocking of the next episode" option when recharging for the first time. Users will be continuously charged without paying attention. The behavior of micro drama merchants who fail to fulfill their obligation to inform violates consumers' right to know and freedom of choice. Ju Shang, Deputy Secretary General of Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission, introduced that the elderly consumer group of micro dramas often face problems such as unfamiliarity with the online environment and cumbersome appeal procedures. In addition, the payment page of the platform cannot be screenshot, making it difficult to retain evidence. Some short drama producers have "changed their vests" or directly removed videos, making it difficult for consumers to identify the relevant business entities, resulting in no way to file complaints and difficulties in safeguarding their rights. Ju Shang, Deputy Secretary General of Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission: We believe that in the future, efforts should be made in both supervision and platform self-discipline. Enrich the content and form of micro dramas, and promote the high-quality implementation of the filing and review mechanism; Intensify the punishment for illegal and irregular content, and establish a reward and compensation mechanism for excellent content works; Optimize the charging model, implement clear pricing, strictly prohibit price fraud, and enable consumers to consume clearly; Establish a comprehensive refund process, facilitate consumer refund channels, and fulfill platform responsibilities. In June of this year, the latest work tips on the filing of micro dramas officially came into effect. The new regulations in the "Work Tips" require the implementation of industry regulatory responsibilities, territorial management responsibilities, and platform entity responsibilities, and the implementation of "classification and hierarchical review". The review of micro dramas is constantly being strengthened. (New Society)