Streaming: Why do People Love it?

Twitch, Youtube, and even Facebook are littered with livestreams and videos of players (streamers) from all around the world doing one thing: playing video games. While this is a foreign concept to some, in the past several years this act has ballooned into an almost 5 billion dollar industry as of 2017. This phenomenon is something that escapes me, even as an avid gamer, but one scroll through reddit and I am quickly reminded that I am in the minority.



Why do people like it? This is something I often find myself pondering when I see reports of a streamer pulling in the GDP of a small country for playing a free game. I think the answer can be found in looking at the reality TV boon of the late 90's and early 2000's. We as humans get some strange enjoyment out of watching content that is mundane in nature, but acted out by someone with a big personality. A great example of this is literally anything Guy Fieri has done on television. Is there anything compelling about watching a middle aged dude stuff himself with cheesesteaks for an hour? No, but if you frost his tips, make him wear everyone's edgy middle school wardrobe, and script hilarious slang terms to describe a hot dog, we will binge watch that for an entire weekend.

This same thing is happening with streaming. Kids don't just tune in to watch someone play Minecraft, they watch for the goofy comments and graphics that the streamer injects. This is not something they get from their own gaming sessions, so they seek out this unique, different experience of their favorite form of media.

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