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The announcement by Wang Bowen, known online by his video channel handle @dalianlaoshiwangbowen, comes amid several young online celebrities’ sudden deaths due to mounting work- stress, according to the Liaoshen Evening News.

He himself said that the sight of a camera or questions about when he would post new videos often left him feeling physically unwell and overwhelmed with anxiety.

One of China’s most popular social media stars, followed as he was by more than 20 million people, said in his latest video that he would suspend video uploads for an “indefinite period.”

“Intense content creation for the past 13 years has overdrafted my physical and mental health. I have got health problems like tinnitus, depression, anxiety, and heart disease,” the South China Morning Post quoted Wang as saying.

Based in Dalian in the northeastern Liaoning Province, he said he had been struggling to push through worsening health problems since last year.

He said his mother once asked him: “What is the point of earning money? Do you want to live on? Your father and I have only one child. Without you, how shall we live?”

Wang started posting videos in 2013 and went viral in 2017 for his comedic skits, in which he portrayed several characters in scenes inspired by everyday life. He has won numerous awards for short video creators, with some clips attracting up to 600,000 likes.

He was diagnosed with heart disease in February and said it nearly cost him his life. Following the diagnosis, he stopped posting content until releasing the recent video announcing his withdrawal from social media.

In it, he thanked supporters but urged them not to pity him.

“Please do not sympathise with me. I believe I live a life better than most of you. What I have done these years is based on my own choice. As an adult, I need to bear the consequences.”

In China, the sudden deaths of some famous influencers from heart- and other problems spark public concern and media attention.

They include education influencer Zhang Xuefeng, who had 30 million online followers before dying of cardiac arrest in March, Jimu News reported. He had admitted in his videos about several health scares in recent years. In 2023, he was hospitalized after experiencing symptoms believed to be caused by excessive workload and exhaustion.

In March this year, a 39-year-old influencer from northern China’s Shanxi province died of a brain haemorrhage after being rushed to a hospital by colleagues. She alarmed co-workers during a live online shopping broadcast by suddenly crying out: “I feel pain.”

In April, a 34-year-old wine-review blogger from central China’s Henan province died in his sleep due to heart disease.