Correlations between Twitch’s interaction features and parasocial relationships and streamer influence

Abstract

In recent years, video live streaming has experienced a drastic rise in popularity as a form of entertainment online. One of the largest live streaming platforms is Twitch, a social media live streaming platform that is mainly centered around gaming content and is primarily used by young adults and teenagers. This study explores various interaction features on the platform (e.g. chatting, subscribing, donating) and whether these mechanisms correlate with users’ likelihood to 1) develop parasocial relationships, and/or 2) be influenced by streamers they watch. A survey was created for adult Twitch users to assess their usage behaviors, their parasocial interactions and relationships, and their tendency to be influenced by streamers. The survey received 116 complete responses. All of the interaction mechanisms examined were found to have a significant positive correlation with parasocial relationship scores, and all except one, the “follow” feature, were significantly positively correlated with streamer influence scores. Future research could examine these correlations in a larger sample size, or in a sample of Twitch users aged 13-17 to see if the effects are the same among minors.