“It's not numbers, and it's not just usernames”: exploring the mediated relationships between twitch streamers and their viewers

Abstract

On Twitch, a livestreaming platform, 3.8 million broadcasters, known as ‘streamers’ go live to over 200 million viewers (Ruby, 2023). Initially developed for gaming-centred content, Twitch has since branched out to cater to a wide range of interests, such as live music, art, conversation, and sport. A key component of streaming on Twitch involves communicating with users, who send messages in the chat box that accompanies streams through which streamers and viewers can have two-way conversation in real-time. For streamers that gain a substantial number of viewers, Twitch offers monetisation through first gaining Affiliate status, and then Partner status, allowing streamers to earn money from viewers subscribing to their channels and donating cash tips and Twitch’s own virtual currency of ‘Bits’.

Although Twitch is seeing growing academic interest, it has received less attention than other social media and content creation platforms, such as Facebook and YouTube. In addition, much of the prior research on Twitch and livestreaming more broadly centres around the technical aspects of streaming, whilst the relationships which form between streamers and their viewers remain under researched. To address this gap in the literature, this thesis explores the complex relationships that develop between Twitch streamers and their viewers, examining the multifaceted nature of these connections through the analysis of factors that impact their development and maintenance. The data collection for this research commenced with unstructured observation on the platform to learn about how streamers engage with their viewers. From this observation and from the literature on social media and personal relationships, key themes emerged which formed the basis for the semi-structured interviews with 32 streamers. This research focuses specifically on the experiences of women and non-binary streamers on Twitch as, from this observation, gender appeared to play a significant role in how streamers navigate the platform and the relationships they form.

The first theme examined in this thesis is the impact of gender on the experiences of women and non-binary streamers, noting the ways in which their gender identity, and viewers’ perception of this identity, impact how they are treated on the platform. Streamers’ presentation and behaviour is often subjected to policing and intense scrutiny from viewers, who use the chat function afforded by Twitch to enforce gendered expectations. Women and non-binary streamers often encounter misogynistic and transphobic abuse, criticism, and hostility due to their online presence, restricting the potential depth of relationships they can establish with their viewers. The labour of streamers also impacted the dynamics of their relationships with viewers on Twitch. For earning money and achieving Affiliate and Partner status, success on the platform is reliant on forming relationships with viewers. Aspirational labour plays a vital role as streamers look to expand their channels, whilst also engaging in affective and emotional labour to generate positive impressions from their viewers. This thesis then explores how intimacy is developed in the relationships between streamers and their viewers. Streamers build communities around their streams through attracting regular viewership, disclosing personal information, with reciprocal communication through the use of the chat, and creating a sense of providing support and care for each other. Alongside developing intimacy with viewers, the data suggests that maintaining boundaries is crucial to upholding an environment that nurtures meaningful connections, as well as safeguarding streamers' mental wellbeing, privacy, and safety. Thus, this thesis examines how a form of intimacy and meaningful connection is achieved through the implementation of moderators, chat rules, and limiting self-disclosure in order to preserve such a balance. Authenticity plays a crucial role in shaping the relationships between streamers and their viewers on Twitch and defining and understanding authenticity within the context of live streaming from participant-generated definitions provides vital insight into how they form genuine connections. Streamers perform authenticity by sharing personal information, including vulnerabilities in order to relate to their viewers and provide an engaging environment. Finally, performing authenticity on Twitch also offers complications through the financial component of streaming from sponsorships and monetary incentives, with streamers’ transparency about such financial incentives forming a significant factor in being trusted by their audience.

This thesis offers a comprehensive exploration of the multifaceted relationships between Twitch streamers and their viewers by revealing the ways in which the streamers form relationships with their viewers, and the complexities and challenges that arise from the reciprocity of communication afforded by Twitch. The findings from this research contribute to existing scholarship on personal relationships, digital media, and online communities, through the provision of valuable insights and new understandings of the ways in which online relationships are formed and maintained. Understanding these relationships will be crucial in shaping the future of digital media landscapes, particularly for women and non-binary users, as livestreaming platforms such as Twitch continue to grow in popularity and evolve to encompass an ever-expanding array of content.