Since January 2024, I’ve been joking about having turned into a “professional IRL stream viewer”; as I noted in the first blog post, my intention was to begin paring back during April. And I basically did begin that process (a lot of subs expired/not renewed). I haven’t begun the unfollowing process yet though for many of those channels (the initial purge will happen whenever I feel like doing it).
I often followed during the course of a raid. But then it turns out for some channels, I never really end up really watching or even lurking in. For several channels, their streaming schedule was polar opposite when I’m sleeping. There are also only a few communities that I am active in. At the same time, I am also very conscious about the amount of “couch potatoing” this has turned into (and as each month goes by, that aspect is beginning to wear thin). I was never a couch potato when it came to television (over time even before the commercial Internet, I barely watched any), and I definitely do not want to be a couch potato for Twitch IRL/just chatting.
One of the draws for me with IRL/just chatting, is that interactive/conversational component between the streamer and viewers. Once that begins declining (in terms of quality level), it becomes easier to slowly “exit stage left”. I often times end up humoring myself in chat just to try and keep myself engaged in a streamers chat, but it usually doesn’t last long, and I end up just turning into a lurker. Basically, all the signals are there; no, I do not want to be a “professional IRL stream viewer”. I think it’s like a lot of hobbies that you try out where there is that initial intrigue/curiosity but as time goes on, you just start to naturally fade (when the novelty factor has worn out).
I’m also not a huge fan of how Twitch uses this whole “hype train” BS because it’s meant to drive the purchase of gift subs and bits (which they make a lot of money from due to how the revenue sharing goes for subs unless one is a partner plus, or how the purchaser of bits fronts most of the profit for Amazon/Twitch). While I’ve enjoyed helping out smaller streamers (mostly directly donating to help them reach their goals, and seeing their reactions), I also know the reality of how difficult it is for it to be even a decent part-time income (once you start looking at how much hours are being put into it). I usually just advise doing it for fun (both Twitch and YouTube). The other issue is longevity. There is a point where the growth portion stagnates. Big follower numbers are meaningless unless it translates into an actual decent revenue stream. Even some of the bigger gaming streamers I followed in the 2013-2017 timeframe, no longer stream.
I mean “shit” happens; peoples priorities change with real-life circumstances (for both the content creator and those in their community). Since I began using Twitch again in 2024, I know a few of these bigger streamers (who had previously stopped) ended up returning, but they no longer do it full time and have double-digit viewers when they used to stream to hundreds or thousands in the past. The “what goes up, must come down” saying really applies here. With Twitch, a set streaming schedule is paramount to organic viewer growth. With IRL/just chatting, it’s not as simple as that (especially if it is just a part-time side thing). Which is why my own advice again is to just do it for fun. While raids/hosts are mechanisms to help, the reality is that retention is much more challenging (everyone has different preferences/tastes).
Majority of my original social media accounts I either deactivated or deleted (I also consider Twitch as another form of social media). I may end up disabling (deactivating) my Twitch account again in the future just to help ensure that I put an end of being this “professional IRL Twitch viewer” meme that I’m constantly joking about.
Update: I’ve already reduced my time visiting/actively watching streamers outside the ones in my top 5. 25 and counting expired subscriptions with just 10 active (this is going to be narrowed to my top 5 keepers probably by the end of June). I will probably begin unfollowing the rest in July.
