“You can’t imagine how hard it is”: hardship streamers in live crowdfunding

Introduction. The combination of Live streaming and E-commerce also offers opportunities for people whose family members are severely ill, disabled, or old and facilitates their ability to raise funds by selling commodities and receiving virtual gifts. Unlike other streamers, hardship live streamers are driven by unique motivations and may employ distinct self-presentation techniques. Method. We analysed TikTok video clips and sales data from 14 male and female hardship streamers. Analysis. We used both quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data, including topic modelling, sentiment analysis, and thematic content analysis. Results. We found that 1) hardship streamers used multi-modal cues to facilitate interactivity and authenticity, as they emphasized their hardship and promoted the product; 2) higher literacy level of the streamers and the use of a positive tone positively correlated with better sales; 3) hardship storytelling positively correlated with the time the audience stayed in their live streaming sessions; and 4) females focused more on their hardships, used a more negative tone, and talked faster than males. Conclusion. We provide a unique understanding of the effectiveness of self-presentation strategies used by marginalized live streamers in raising funds on TikTok.