Audience size, moderator activity, gender, and content diversity

Exploring user participation and financial commitment on Twitch.tv

Bibliographic Data

ID12656161
AuthorsGrace Wolff (0000-0001-9337-9117, corresponding author), Cuihua Shen (0000-0003-3871-8256, University of California, Davis)
Year2022
Volume26
Issue2
Pages859-881
Publication date2022-01-16
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNew Media & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-4448 • E-ISSN: 1461-7315
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14614448211069996
OpenAlexW4206595057
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited44

User participation has long been recognized as a cornerstone of thriving online communities. Social live-streaming service (SLSS) communities are built on a subscription-based model and rely on viewers’ participation and financial support. Using the collective effort model and heuristics of social influence, this study examines the influence of streamer and viewer behaviors on viewers’ participation and financial commitment on the SLSS, Twitch.tv. Findings from behavioral data collected over 7 weeks show larger audiences diminish individual participation and financial commitment while moderation may encourage more. Female streamers benefit from increased moderation, earning two to three times more in financial commitment compared to men, who streamed more frequently and for longer durations but attracted much smaller audiences. Viewers’ participation and financial commitment did not differ across streams with more content diversity. Our results demonstrate how group factors influence individual participation and financial commitment in newer subscription-based media

Advertising · Business · Cornerstone · Diversity (politics · Heuristics · Moderation · Political science · Public relations · Social media · Thriving · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology

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