Driven by the digital economy, there are various side hustles based on Internet platforms. However, many online side hustles hide hidden tricks, making migrant workers' side hustles "negative". Experts remind that if migrant workers want to make money, they must work hard to get it, and don't have a fluke mentality. At the same time, it is suggested that online platforms should conduct information review of the content published by them, and relevant departments should form a joint effort to protect the rights and interests of migrant workers.
Live broadcast assistance, short video editing, audiobook dubbing, short drama promotion...... Driven by the digital economy, there are a variety of side jobs based on Internet platforms, which is dazzling. Claiming that there is no threshold, quick to get started, and no geographical restrictions, it attracts many migrant workers who want to use their spare time to increase their income through online side hustles. However, the reporter interviewed and found that many online side hustles are hidden behind the routines, and the migrant workers not only did not make money, but even took consumer loans.
Renovation of tricks: "online earning" becomes "online compensation"
Ms. Deng, from her hometown of Guangxi, works as a nurse in Tianjin and wants to subsidize her family through a side hustle. On March 12, she swiped a part-time job with live broadcast assistance: after completing the corresponding assistance amount and posting pictures, she can get a proportional commission. After Ms. Deng was pulled into the task group, she completed the task of 100 yuan in the first order and received a profit of 25 yuan. Subsequently, the so-called "teacher" in the group said that Ms. Deng grabbed a 3,000 yuan assistance task and pulled her into a power group of only 4 people, and she could get 30%~40% of the income after completion.
"The other party suddenly said that I made a mistake, and I couldn't get back the amount of help that the other three people had put in, so I had to add more tasks to take out the money. Under the persuasion of several people in the group, Ms. Deng invested in three assistance tasks, totaling 130,000 yuan. "Looking back, the people in the group at that time should have been in a group, acting together to deceive me. After discovering that she had been deceived, Ms. Deng chose to call the police.
Ms. Tang's story is not unique. A number of respondents who have had the experience of being deceived by finding a side hustle said that there are various online side hustles today, but many of them are scams, and the routines are basically the same, "either let you pay money to join the club first, or let you swipe the bill." "To copy the book to realize, you have to pay 999 yuan to buy software, and in fact, the copy video published on the self-media platform almost does not make any profit, and there is a risk of infringement;
Professor Zhang Dongmei, deputy dean of the Law School of the China Institute of Labor Relations, believes that the rapid development of online platforms provides more and more flexible labor and employment methods, but in the process of finding a side business on the online platform, it also faces risks such as personal information leakage, damage to consumer rights and interests, and fraud. "Some side hustles may involve illegal activities, such as participating in illegal fundraising, pyramid schemes, or helping others to launder money. These actions may not only lead to financial loss, but may also involve criminal liability. ”
There are many routines: if you want to find a side hustle, you will attend classes first
"No threshold 0 yuan learning" video editing, free help to open a "window", free dry goods sharing short drama writing...... Seeing such publicity, are you also tempted to seek a side hustle?
The reporter's investigation found that many people on social platforms, short video platforms and other online platforms shared that they had obtained a good income through which side hustles with zero threshold and easy to use, and added personal experience to increase credibility, in fact, in order to promote side hustle training courses through private messages, group pulling, etc.
Xiao Yang, a post-90s generation who works in Guangxi, encountered such a routine. Xiao Yang, who wanted to find a side hustle, swiped an advertisement for a part-time job in audiobook dubbing on social platforms. After adding friends, the other party first asked Xiao Yang to listen to a free live lecture. "I talked about some small knowledge points of dubbing, and then I started to sell the course and show some cases of the benefits of excellent students. The screenshot of the live broadcast sent by Xiao Yang shows that the original tuition fee of the dubbing class course is 8750 yuan, and you can enjoy discounts and benefits by paying a deposit of 100 yuan, and the tuition fee is 5960 yuan.
The lively atmosphere in the live broadcast room, and the publicity that only the top 5 who pay a deposit can get preferential publicity, Xiao Yang, who is hot-headed, paid the registration fee and opened the installment payment under the "guidance" of the staff.
After listening to two live classes, Xiao Yang found that he was talking about very basic knowledge of vowels and consonants, and the so-called orders while learning did not materialize. Xiao Yang, who wanted to withdraw from the class, was "kicked in the ball": "The teacher I contacted before asked me to contact another staff member in charge of refunds, but the other party has not been able to contact him. ”
According to Aiqicha, the training institution that Xiao Yang signed up for was operating abnormally and had a risk warning. The reporter searched on the black cat complaint and found that there were 41 complaints involving the agency, including false publicity, inducing consumption, guiding installment loans, overlord clauses and other complaints, and the latest complaint was dated March 7.
The reporter searched for a lot of part-time advertisements such as audio book dubbing and short video clips on social platforms, and found that the routine was basically the same as what Xiao Yang encountered: in the process of listening to free classes, the "lecturer" began to sell the course and induce the opening of consumer loans.
Breaking the trap: multi-party co-governance strengthens supervision
Recently, there have been many cases of scams in the process of doing side hustles. Shi Guoli, a lawyer at Sichuan Shu'an Law Firm, told reporters that in the cases he contacted, sideline projects such as live streaming, store agency operation, and home business have gradually increased, but in fact, there are many traps in the contract. ”
Du Yanghu, a food delivery rider whose hometown is in Nanchong, Sichuan, once took being a blogger on a short video platform as a side hustle. "Now there are fewer people watching, and there is almost no gain. He said that he can often brush up on the videos of teaching live broadcasts and video clips, and "I will no longer believe those so-called advertisements for paying money courses."
Shi Guoli reminded the majority of workers that when looking for a side job or a part-time job, they should first consider whether the company is using helping people to make money as a propaganda cheat, or can it really achieve part-time work? The simplest criterion for judging is: If the project can make money, why do you need to promote the project to attract others to participate and charge to make money? Therefore, if you want to make money, you still need to take one step at a time, rely on your own hard work to get it, and don't have the mentality of making money by chance.
In Zhang Dongmei's view, breaking the trap of "sideline training" is a comprehensive system project. On the one hand, it is necessary to strengthen the responsibility of platform censorship. If the online platform does not strictly review the content and information published by it, which harms the interests of job seekers, the platform needs to bear joint and several liability. On the other hand, the public security, market regulation, and internet information departments should form a joint force to protect the rights and interests of relevant entities. At the same time, individual workers should also improve their self-defense ability, be wary of the temptation of free or low-cost courses, and "once they find themselves falling into the trap of side job training, they should promptly complain and report to the relevant departments to protect their legitimate rights and interests." ”
In addition, Zhang Dongmei also reminded that workers should correctly handle the relationship between the main business and the side business. On the premise that the employee can perform the labor obligations of the main business in accordance with the labor contract, he can engage in side business during the rest time. But it's important to note that a side hustle can't affect the main hustle. If the side business affects the performance of the obligations of the main business, the employee may have to bear certain legal consequences, and may even be terminated from the employment contract.
Source: Workers' Daily