The Psychology of Twitch: CNBC Interview

In the beginning of February, I was invited to speak to CNBC about the role of psychology in the growing popularity of Twitch. This interview can be viewed below:

When preparing for this interview, I wanted to provide unique research separate from my Psychology of Twitch article. I also overprepared for this interview, so a lot of content was removed to make room for the lovely and successful people who were interviewed.

I would like for this short article to serve two purposes: to provide references for the content that I did discuss, and to share the informative content that was edited out with the world.

Thank you and please enjoy!

Why is watching people play video games so popular?

For this question, I used research by Sjöblom et al. (2017). In this study, a number of reasons were identified for why watching video games is so popular.

The first reason identified was referred to as ‘information seeking’. People may seek out streams of video games to learn how to optimally play a game or be the best at a game. This phenomenon isn’t exactly new in the video game world. If you think about the good old arcade days, there were occasions where people would be gathered around one arcade cabinet because the person playing was exceptionally good. Watching this person was not only entertaining, but also provided players with tips on how to get further in the game and play optimally.

The second reason identified was referred to as ‘tension release’. After a hard day of work or school, people enjoyed tuning into a stream to watch an entertaining personality have fun with a video game. This also gave people a relaxing social outlet to talk to people from the comfort of their own home.

This social aspect of Twitch was also a predictor of Twitch’s popularity. What helps set Twitch apart from simply watching recordings of video games is the ability to interact with both the streamer and the audience. This helps people make friends with people that share the same interests as them.

What kind of social impact has it had on both the streamers and the viewers?

Twitch has the potential to impact the social life of both the streamer and the viewer. For streamers, it is common for external group chats such as Discord servers to be made where people can get together and interact with the streamer and other fans. This means that a streamer doesn’t even have to be streaming to be surrounded by the support of their viewers. It is also common for streamers to have a social media presence, meaning that viewers can follow them elsewhere, support them, and be part of their lives.

For the viewer, being part of a streaming community introduces people to a brand new pool of potential friends that share their same gaming interests. Research shows that meeting friends through online gaming communities is very beneficial for us. In a study by Cole et al. (2007), 43% of people went on to meet their online friends in real life, 30% ended up dating someone they met in an online gaming community, and 39% said that they talked to their online friends about problems that they were too scared to talk to their offline friends about. That’s a lot of potential love, friendship and support from simply watching someone play a video game.

Are there any interesting statistics as to why people are drawn to Twitch streamers?

There are! When trying to figure out why streaming was becoming so popular, a prevalent theory was something called Uses and Gratifications Theory (Katz et al., 1973). This theory argued that people would simply watch a streamer because they specifically chose to watch the game they were playing. However, research by Deng et al. (2015) found that this wasn’t necessarily the case. Over a 10-month research period, they found that only around 30% of the top streamers stuck to playing one game, with the average being around 10 games over this period.

This means that while a viewer may have begun watching a streamer because of a certain game they were playing, they continued to support this streamer because they became captivated by the streamer themselves, loved being a part of the community, or both. I think this is something important that people should acknowledge about Twitch. While video games are thoroughly enjoyable, the people playing them can also be incredibly charismatic, charming and entertaining.

Is part of the appeal of watching streams being a part of a community?

Research does suggest that this is part of the appeal. On Twitch, a method of financially supporting a streamer is to subscribe to them. In Sjöblom et al.’s research, the largest predictor of someone subscribing to a streamer was their frequency of engaging with the chat. Twitch subscriptions also offer neat perks such as a badge beside your name and access to special emoticons. Not only can these emoticons enhance the experience when speaking to other community members, but your badge indicates that you are a valued member of the community who helps to keep a roof over the streamer’s head.

Are there any statistics on the frequency of watching streams in the background?

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any direct research exploring Twitch viewership in the background. However, I did find some interesting research on why we may watch Twitch in the background.

Wang et al. (2012) conducted research into what is known as ‘media multitasking’ – the act of watching media while we engage in other tasks. They found that the primary reason for engaging in media multitasking was emotional gratification. In essence, we want to feel an emotion that the task at hand is not providing us with. For example, if we are doing a dull and monotonous task, it is enjoyable for us to listen to our favourite streamer in the background and be entertained.

Towards the end of the interview, the interviewer and I were discussing the relationship dynamic between a streamer and their audience. Unfortunately, there is not a wealth of research on this topic as Twitch research is still in its infancy. However, I did share anecdotal evidence from my experience of watching Twitch streams. From a streamer’s perspective, I shared an anecdote on how grateful a streamer was for their viewership as Twitch subscriptions allowed him to buy his mother with dwindling health a new car. From a viewer’s perspective, I shared a story about how a viewer shared his engagement news with a streamer and how the streamer and audience alike cheered him on – this clip was included in the interview.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every person who has read an article of mine or supported me. It is thanks to your support that outlets such as CNBC notice me and recognise me as someone who is qualified to discuss video game research. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Thank you all very much for reading! This hard work would not be possible without the support of my wonderful Patrons. I would particularly like to thank my Platinum Patrons: Matt Demers, Albert S Calderon, Kyle T, redKheld, DigitalPsyche, Brent Halen, Dimelo ‘Derp’ Waterson, Hagbard Celine, Aprou, Nathan, Austin Enright, Dr. Shane Tilton, SK120, NotGac, ——– and Shaemus. Thank you!

References

Cole, H., & Griffiths, M. D. (2007). Social Interactions in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Gamers. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 10(4), 575-583.

Deng, J., Cuadrado, F., Tyson, G., & Uhlig, S. (2015). Behind the game: Exploring the Twitch streaming platform. 2015 International Workshop on Network and Systems Support for Games (NetGames), 1-6.

Katz, E., Blumler, J., & Gurevitch, M. (1973). Uses and Gratifications Research. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 37(4), 509-523.

Sjöblom, M., & Hamari, J. (2017). Why do people watch others play video games? An empirical study on the motivations of Twitch users. Computers in Human Behavior, 75, 985-996.

Wang, Z., & Tchernev, J. M. (2012). The ‘‘Myth’’ of media Multitasking: Reciprocal dynamics of media multitasking, personal needs, and gratifications. Journal of Communication, 62(3), 493e513.