Twitch Affiliation: A Rite to Cultivate Digital Identity and Community

Abstract

“Twitch” is an online platform that hosts thousands of gaming channels created by professional, aspiring and casual gamers. On it, live broadcasting of gameplay occurs while audience members are invited to chat, donate or simply observe the stream. Affiliation on the platform is a requirement for streamers to acquire subscribers and access various tools that enhance participatory and sensory experience. In this digital landscape, higher financial standing and prior streaming experience create strategic advantages for new content creators. For example, streamers who can afford higher quality materials will integrate clearer graphics or more appealing sound. In a context where mere seconds may determine a channel’s success, first impressions and channel quality are key in ensuring viewership stability. This thesis makes the case that studying those streamers who are not yet affiliated with the platform provides a window into systemic inequalities both online and offline. Through ethnographic work, this study will thus highlight the stories of marginalized streamers who struggle to gain access to a digital community and have been largely ignored by researchers. Asking how they manage the process of seeking affiliation and by paying attention to chat feedback, I will analyze the processes of digital branding, image control and self-marketing, as well as the maintenance of fraught boundaries between public and private in this fast-paced digital context.