15 seconds of a burden, 30 seconds of a reversal, condensed dozens of minutes of plot into just a few minutes of micro-short drama attracted many audiences. However, while micro-short dramas obtain commercial profits on a large scale, there are also many problems.
Many micro-short dramas need to recharge membership or pay to buy to watch all the content, and some users reported that they paid the fee "inexplicably", especially some elderly people who are not familiar with electronic payment, and unknowingly pay a high fee, but it is even more difficult to get a refund.
"0.9 yuan to unlock an episode" as bait
Seniors are deducted without their knowledge
Ms. Du's mother, who just retired two years ago, has been watching short dramas on her mobile phone lately, and has paid unknowingly.
Ms. Du introduced that the plots are all types of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law struggles, husband and wife conflicts, emotional entanglements, etc., and the content will continue to be reversed, which is very attractive to the elderly. Since her mother's mobile phone platform was bound to Ms. Du's bank card, she found that there were often small payments to pay bills. "Many short dramas are free to watch in the first two or three episodes, and you have to pay for them later, and my mother unknowingly spent dozens of yuan. ”
The elderly are not proficient in using mobile phones, and sometimes it is difficult to notice options such as "automatically unlock the next episode by default" after receiving advertisements such as "unlock an episode for only 0.9 yuan", resulting in them being deducted without knowing it. After the children find out, they also face problems such as cumbersome appeal procedures.
Mr. Lee's mother had a similar problem. According to Mr. Li, most of the software will pop up advertising windows when clicked in, and some advertisements are micro-short dramas. "That's how my mom is, click in and jump to the download link. The first one or two episodes are free, and the next episode will be unlocked in the form of watching ads, but there is a limit to the number of times, and you have to recharge when you run out, and you will automatically deduct money every month when you open a membership. ”
For this reason, Mr. Li called to complain, but the other party asked to show the bank statement and face authentication, the procedures were very troublesome, the time was delayed, and in the end only 70% of the fee was refunded.
When you pay, you quickly jump to the payment interface
Consumers are passive members, and it is difficult to get a refund
Not only the elderly, but also young people reported that when they wanted to pay to watch a certain micro-short drama, they were quickly jumped to the membership payment interface by the applet, and they would accidentally spend hundreds of yuan to become a member, but it was not easy to get a refund later.
Ms. Zheng reflected that she watched a short drama on the short video platform, and after watching a few episodes, she was told that she needed to pay if she continued to watch it, because she opened face recognition for quick payment, and suddenly paid more than 300 yuan to become a VIP member, and wanted a refund, but was told that she couldn't return it if she had already watched the drama.
According to a micro-short drama practitioner, the audience is basically attracted by some clips, and then enters the mini program to pay to watch the full episode. "There are too many dramas on the market now, and this consumption is a bottomless pit. ”
According to the feedback from several platforms with short drama mini programs, in response to the payment problems reported by users, the payment restrictions are mainly aimed at minors, and for users with independent civil capacity, including the elderly, the current restrictions that can be achieved are that users must have perception and need to confirm when paying, and it is forbidden to automatically deduct fees for watching the next episode. Mini Programs for short dramas also require transparent prices that cannot be changed.
At the same time, some users reported that there were vulgar micro-short drama content in the Mini Program, such as promoting wealth and worship, advocating violence, vulgar hunting content, etc., which seriously affected the user experience, and the platform also removed some short drama Mini Programs from the shelves.
Expert: Payments should be clear,
You need to set up a refund mechanism
According to the data, as of December 2023, the number of online video users in mainland China has exceeded 1 billion, of which micro-short dramas with a daily payment of up to 60 million yuan are becoming the new favorite of online video.
According to the "2023-2024 China Micro Short Drama Market Research Report", the market size of online micro-short dramas in mainland China will be 37.39 billion yuan in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 267.65%, and it is expected that the market size of China's online micro-short dramas will exceed 100 billion yuan in 2027. In the context of the high efficiency and relatively low cost of content production, micro-short dramas have become the focus of pursuit by various capitals and creators.
The market is huge, and it needs to be regulated. In response to the problem of chaotic charging with many consumer complaints, experts suggest that platform operators are obliged to fully inform consumers of the relevant key terms before they make a payment and recharge, and at the same time clearly set up a refund mechanism.
Source: People's Daily Science Popularization