From "Big Brother" to Criminal: A Middle-aged Man's Road to Self-Destruction
In the online live broadcast circle, the so-called "big brother on the list" usually refers to those viewers who are crazy about gifts and rank first. These people often become the focus and darling of the live broadcast room for a while because of their generosity, attracting the envy and admiration of many viewers. However, when this short-term sense of vanity becomes a serious addiction, it can lead to serious social problems.
This is the tragedy experienced by Xie Pengshan, manager of the textbook distribution department of the Puge branch of Xinhua Bookstore Co., Ltd. in Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan. From an ordinary middle-aged man, to becoming an eye-catching "big brother", and finally degenerating into a criminal, this process is undoubtedly suffocating. His downfall not only brought serious consequences to himself, but also seriously damaged the interests of his relatives and friends, and finally went to the trial of criminal justice.
What kind of process is this, and what social problems have been exposed? Let's delve into this embarrassing case.
Xie Pengshan, an ordinary middle-aged man's "upgrade" road
On the surface, Xie Pengshan's life is very ordinary and boring. He was born in January 1987 in Puge, Sichuan, and since joining the work in June 2005, he has been working in the Puge Branch of Liangshan Xinhua Bookstore Co., Ltd., from the staff of the distribution department to the position of manager. At work, he has always shown himself as a "little expert", and he is a good employee who is rigorous and pragmatic in the mouth of his colleagues.
"My life is very simple, I don't have any friends, I don't get married, I like to stay at home and watch videos and play games except for work. "Such an ordinary middle-aged man suddenly encountered a turning point in his life one day in October 2022.
It was on that day that Xie Pengshan accidentally entered a live broadcast room and saw a sweet-looking, humorous anchor. Out of curiosity, he couldn't help but give the anchor a virtual gift worth 200 yuan.
What Xie Pengshan didn't expect was that in this live broadcast room with thousands of viewers, he was named and thanked by the anchor. This made Xie Pengshan, who has always felt like a "transparent person", experience the feeling of being "valued" for the first time. Since then, he began to appear frequently in the anchor's live broadcast room, and slowly began to give a large number of tips.
With the continuous increase in the amount of rewards, Xie Pengshan has gradually become the "big brother" in the live broadcast room. Everyone envied him for being able to give gifts to the anchor so generously, and the anchor also took the trouble to thank him, making him feel that he was particularly "valued".
This feeling of being noticed and recognized is undoubtedly a huge temptation for a middle-aged man who usually lacks interest in life and has few friends. Xie Pengshan quickly immersed himself in it and was out of control. From a reward of two or three hundred yuan to a reward of five or six thousand yuan, he was like an addict who had completely fallen into it, unable to extricate himself.
At the same time, the vanity of becoming the "big brother on the list" is getting heavier and heavier, driving Xie Pengshan to constantly pursue higher rankings and attention. "People in the live broadcast room call me 'Big Brother Bang', and everyone is also very envious of 'Liu Yuqi', this feeling is addictive. He himself admits that this feeling of being noticed and praised makes him unable to extricate himself.
From an ordinary middle-aged man to an enviable "big brother", Xie Pengshan's life has undergone earth-shaking changes since then. Not only does he shine in the virtual world, but he also does not shine in real life. This round of life turning point is undoubtedly a huge "upgrade" for him.
From "Big Brother" to Criminal: A Small Hobby Turns into a Devastating Addiction
For Xie Pengshan, it is undoubtedly a huge leap in his life to become an ordinary middle-aged man to become the "big brother on the list" who has attracted much attention. He finally got rid of the shackles of ordinary life and received widespread attention and recognition, which is undoubtedly a great satisfaction for a person who usually lacks the joy of life.
However, like many addicts, Xie Pengshan quickly immersed himself in it. At first, the tips of tens to hundreds of yuan quickly escalated to thousands of yuan or even tens of thousands of yuan. He can't wait to stay in the live broadcast room every day, and constantly brush gifts for his favorite anchors in order to get more attention.
However, this huge vanity and possessiveness soon exhausted all of Xie Pengshan's personal savings. He began to take out loans frequently through online loan software, but he still couldn't meet his profligacy needs. In the end, driven by tremendous pressure and desire, this middle-aged man, who is usually honest and dutiful, actually made an incredible move.
In February 2023, Xie Pengshan took advantage of his position as a manager in the unit to transfer all the more than 1.34 million yuan of teaching and auxiliary materials from 24 schools in Puge County to his personal account. Among them, more than 1.27 million yuan was directly used to give gifts to network anchors.
For Xie Pengshan, this is undoubtedly a huge "leap forward". From an ordinary middle-aged man, to becoming the most beautiful "big brother", and then to having to commit a crime in order to maintain this vain title, his life trajectory can be described as a soaring journey, but he eventually became a criminal.
Such a turning point in life is undoubtedly a sigh of relief. The extreme life trajectory of a middle-aged man, who is usually honest and dutiful, would embark on the road of crime because of a momentary vanity and possessiveness, undoubtedly reflects some serious problems in the current society.
From a personal point of view, Xie Pengshan's brain has obviously been completely occupied by the "drug" of online live broadcasting. What started out as a simple curiosity and experimentation quickly evolved into an addiction that was hard to suppress. Whether it is the vanity of becoming the "big brother on the list" to get attention, or the satisfaction of rewarding the anchor to get recognition, for a middle-aged man with a single life and lack of family affection, it has become a drug that is difficult to quit.
Xie Pengshan sank into it like this, constantly pursuing higher rankings and attention, and finally did not hesitate to embezzle public funds to maintain his position. This trajectory of self-destruction fully exposes the extremely fragile and lost side of his heart. It is really embarrassing that a once ordinary middle-aged man has gone down the road of depravity and crime.
From a social perspective, this case also exposes some serious problems in the current society. The first is the lack of regulation of online live streaming platforms. The reason why the "companion" platform can sink people like Xie Pengshan into it is largely because of its lack of effective control measures. This kind of "drug" that specifically targets spiritual needs can easily lead to more social problems if it is not strictly regulated and governed.
On the other hand, Xie Pengshan's family environment may also be an important factor in his transition to crime. According to reports, he lacked the love of his parents since he was a child, which caused an extreme sense of emptiness in his heart. In the absence of good family education and emotional support, he is easily attracted by the illusory attention and recognition on the Internet, and eventually sinks into it.
It can be said that Xie Pengshan's tragedy is not only an imbalance at the personal spiritual level, but also a portrayal of the lack of supervision at the social level. An ordinary middle-aged man finally became a criminal from the "big brother on the list", which reflects various problems in the current social development. Only by addressing these problems at their root can we prevent more tragedies like this.
For Xie Pengshan himself, he finally came to his senses after committing the crime, took the initiative to surrender and sincerely admit his mistakes. This is a positive performance, but it does not make up for the huge damage he has caused. He not only brought heavy financial losses to the unit and school, but also brought a devastating blow to himself and his family.
As Xie Pengshan himself said, his downfall stemmed from his disregard for discipline and law on the one hand, and on the other hand, it was also deeply rooted in spiritual emptiness. This essentially reflects the irreversible path of a middle-aged man who eventually went down the path of crime in the absence of family care and social support.
We need to start at all levels, not only to strengthen the supervision of online platforms, but also to improve the care and assistance of all sectors of society for vulnerable groups. Only in this way can we truly treat the symptoms and the root causes, and avoid more similar tragedies. Although Xie Pengshan's story is embarrassing, it also brings us profound enlightenment. We must take this as a warning and work together to create a healthier and more harmonious social environment.