Virtual beauty vlogger Liu Yexi.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Digital avatars are enjoying an explosion in popularity, especially among the younger generation.

数字化身的流行程度呈爆炸式增长，尤其是在年轻一代中。

With the growth of the metaverse concept, virtual idols are on the verge of a popularity boom, and China's Generation Z-people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s-are ready to drive it.

随着元宇宙概念的发展，一股虚拟偶像的流行热潮正在掀起，中国Z世代（出生于上世纪90年代末至21世纪初之间）正是这一潮流的推动者。

According to data from market consultancy iiMedia Research, the virtual idol industry in China reached 3.46 billion yuan ($540 million) in 2020 and is estimated to double that in 2021.

根据来自市场咨询公司——艾媒咨询的数据，2020年，中国虚拟偶像产业达到34.6亿元（5.4亿美元），预计2021年将翻一番。

Bilibili is one of the earliest platforms to invest in the virtual idol industry and, in 2019, it set up a section for virtual influencers.

哔哩哔哩是最早投资虚拟偶像产业的平台之一，其于2019年设立一个虚拟网红专区。

The company says that there are 32,412 accounts which were created "by" virtual influencers on the platform to broadcast music, dance and game videos last year. Comments from users sent during livestreams involving these influencers reached 560 million in 2020.

哔哩哔哩表示，去年有32412个播放音乐、舞蹈和游戏视频的账号是由平台上的虚拟网红“创建”的。2020年，在这些虚拟网红参与的直播中，来自用户的评论达到了5.6亿。

virtual idol  虚拟偶像

metaverse  元宇宙 （请戳往期链接）

digital avatar  数字化身

Generation Z (Gen-Z)   Z世代（请戳往期链接）

Collected and edited by Lv Yun

Source: China Daily

Cover image: An animator works on hairstyles for a virtual idol in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily]

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