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The Power of Streaming, And Why We Need It More Than Ever

How streaming services like Twitch are bringing people together during the Corona Virus Pandemic.

Ross O’Donovan of Game Grumps and animation fame streaming on twitch. (I’m actually watching this as I write this article!)

So…here we are; three months into 2020 and the world already seems to be falling apart. The Corona virus, or COVID-19 (you can find more information here from the CDC), has been running rampant throughout the world, causing people to migrate indoors as a caution to not spread this already infectious virus. With businesses and restaurants shutting down, schools and college campuses migrating to online classes, and grocery store isles of toilet paper and sanitizers left empty, social distancing is now slowly but surely becoming the new norm – and with it comes the feelings of communal loneliness and absolute boredom.

But boredom is not the worst of the problems we face in this pandemic. Many people are being laid off from their jobs, though some are lucky enough to only be temporarily moved and work from the comfort of their own home. There are sadly some that are even forced to come into work, risking catching the virus to simply earn a living wage and support themselves and their families during this awful time.

However, not many people realize that there’s a new, unlikely hero in our midsts to conquer our boredom during quarantine, and possibly even help those who are financially struggling – streaming services! Though not the ones like Netflix or Disney+, but rather Twitch* (and other sites like it).

*as a note for this article, I am mostly focusing on Twitch, since it’s the platform I have the most experience with.

For those not familiar, Twitch is a streaming platform where people can, well, live stream any type of content on their computer for the world to see. It’s mainly a place for streaming video games, but you can really stream anything from arts and crafts, to digital art, or even just a plain old face cam to chat with an audience. Each stream shows how many viewers are watching, has a live chat where people can talk with each other as well as the streamer, and there’s also options to follow and/or subscribe to the person streaming, so you can get notifications of when they go live and show them your support.

Twitch, and other platforms like it, have now risen to the challenge of helping everyone get through quarantine without human interaction, at least on the physical level. With the wide variety of content streamed on the site daily, and the huge array of streamer personalities and celebrities, it’s no wonder why so many people are hopping on the hype train of watching, or even starting their own streaming channels.

For example, one of my favorite bands of all time is an 80’s themed modern techno band named Tupperware Remix Party, or TWRP for short. Their lead singer, under the pseudonym Doctor Sung to protect his identity, streams on a pretty regular basis on Twitch, and even more so now that everyone in the L.A. area where he lives is on strict lockdown. I managed to get super lucky while watching a stream of his, and asked for his permission to use screenshots or clips from the stream as an example of streaming bringing people together. Thankfully, he was more than happy to oblige!

To paraphrase; Sung said he’d noticed that it’s now much harder to get hands on even entry level streaming gear, and how most sellers are currently sold out since people are simply taking up streaming out of boredom or an increase in free time. He even called this phenomenon “the golden age of streaming.” (Here’s the full clip, as well as a link to his Twitch channel!)

Whether this truly turns out to be the “golden age” of streaming, or just a passing phase while the world is locked up in their rooms with nothing better to do, you can’t deny the positive impact streaming has had on its viewers, as well as the streamers themselves, during this harsh epidemic. Just a few days ago, Doctor Sung decided to mix things up and livestream a full work out session, free of charge, along with his typical video game shenanigans. Me, being the super fan I am, tagged along and worked out for the first time since my quarantine had started. It was so fun to connect with one of my favorite singers, along with other viewers in the live chat who either worked out along side me, or were just watching for the fun of it. There was a sense of community and love for his content and spunky personality, whether people were already fans of his other projects, or were just now joining to see a funny buff guy with what looks like a traffic cone on his head play video games.

Doctor Sung and his dog, Gooby, streaming live on Twitch.

But of course, Twitch isn’t just a place for gaffs and goofs – it’s also a great platform to support amazing creators you love, especially during a scary time where people are losing their sources of income at an alarming rate. You can send then a number of things on a Twitch stream to send them a message they can read besides the live chat, whether it’s donating Bits (Twitch’s in-house currency), or donating actual money.

Doctor Sung has been an advocate across all social media to uplift musicians, who were a surprisingly hit the worst in this pandemic. Concerts and tours are being cancelled, so many musicians like Sung have come to streaming to continue their craft and try to stream in some helpful revenue. With this, even with the same stream as I spoke of before, someone decided to randomly donate $50 to Sung out of the kindness of their heart. People were even wishing Sung well wishes in a previous stream, where he was worried he might’ve contract the virus while on a previous tour, thus locking himself in quarantine. The love that comes from these live chats is incredibly uplifting, and heartwarming to see in these scary times.

This also doesn’t even begin to mention how streaming is also an amazing platform to support incredible charity work – famous creators like Markiplier and Jacksepticeye have donated hundreds of thousands, probably even millions of dollars in total, to different charities of their personal/fans choosing through semi-regular charity live streams.

Overall, Twitch is an amazing platform to be on at this time in our seemingly darkest of days. No matter what kind of stream you watch, who’s streaming, or who else is watching, there’s always a fun, meaningful sense of community and togetherness, and that’s really what we all need in these scary, isolating times. I can only hope this inspires some people to take up watching streams on a more regular basis, or maybe even try streaming themselves! And who knows – check in on your favorite creators social media, and you might just be surprised at how many already have some sort of streaming platform somewhere on the internet.

As a final note, here is a list of some of my favorite streams to watch on Twitch that I didn’t get to mention in my article, and feel free to leave your own suggestions in the comments below! Happy streaming, and stay safe out there!

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