Too often when it comes toTwitch, and streaming culture in general, there tends to be a focus on negative encounters or feuds between streamers. So when a few viewers stumbled on Nick Kelly’s small Just Chatting stream and decided to share his stream with others, it snowballed into aTwitchfeel good story.
Twitch is a strange place for a number of reasons. The interaction between streamer and viewer is simultaneously intimate and distant, with streamers inviting the Internet into their world. It is also a place of gross toxicity, where tribalism leads to viewers of one streamer berating another that their chosen streamer calls out. A prime example of this being whenxQc’s fans lobbed death threats at Ashwhen the two streamers met in theRustOfflineTV server. Despite the existence of negativity, good can happen on the platform, such is the case when a new streamer received an outpouring of support.
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Nick Kelly’s stream was found by a group of friends who weren’t sure if the streamer was for real. But after chatting with Nick for a bit, realized that Nick was genuine in his desire to help people. The Just Chatting category on Twitch is the most popular, and Nick wanted to just chat with any viewer who showed up, offering advice ontopics like bullying, something he says he has experienced in the past. After Nick’s stream was shared on Reddit, the wholesome and earnest streamer drew in thousands of views and over 10,000 follows.
When something nice like this happens, it shows the positive power of the Internet in full effect. There are a lot of people that want to connect, and use platforms like Twitch for good. Charity streams promote a number of good causes, and some have very modest goals, just hoping to raise a few dollars for a cause. WhenYouTuber CouRage dropped some big donationson small charity streams, the reactions were priceless. These kind of stories should be the norm. The support for Nick’s stream, helping charities reach their goals - these are the epitome of “feel good.”
Instead of choosing sides in the latest spat between two streamers hurling insults at one another or deciding to send a barrage of hate to astreamer chosen to be the PogChamp emote, more time should be spent on spreading positivity.
Twitch remains a very strange place. Events likeAGDQ raising $2.7 million for charity, and small streamers like Nick Kelly being met with outpouring of support offer hope that good things can happen online.
