In latest TikTok fad, creators make big bucks off "NPC streaming"
CBSN
TikTok's latest viral trend isn't a choreographed dance, lip-sync performance or Venetian woman screaming at pickpockets. In fact, most people really aren't sure how to describe it. Yet the words of the content creator who made the trend go viral are instantly familiar to her legion of fans: "Ice cream so good. Gang gang. Yes yes yes."
That nonsensical stream of words, often accompanied by robotic body movements, is part of TikToker PinkyDoll's usual performance as a kind of flesh-and-blood, non-playable character, or NPC.
NPC content, a niche category that incorporates elements of ASMR, and that some say contains sexual undertones, is a growing trend on TikTok that is amassing millions of views and earning top practitioners like PinkyDoll and Cherry Crush thousands of dollars per day.
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