Dealing with a toxic viewer in the chat room is what all Twitch streamers have experienced.
Twitch as a popular streaming platform for gamer can’t be separated from toxicity that always presents in any gaming history
In this article, we’re going to explore the numerous reasons why Twitch chat is so toxic and hated by many of its users. By knowing the reason, we hope that you have a good blueprint on how to moderate and reduce toxicity on your channel.
Why is Twitch chat so Toxic?
Twitch chat is so toxic because Twitch as an online platform, gives viewers a degree of freedom and anonymity, it’s normal that toxic behavior thrives on Twitch. The average age of the user is also a problem. Most Twitch viewers are at age of teenager which makes them prone to edgy and toxic behavior
The problem with Twitch is everyone with an email account can participate in the chat room. Many toxic viewers keep sending insult to each other, believing that they are better people under the veil of the internet
What makes things worse is that the chat room is not actually a place for viewers to chat. Even though the intended function of a chat room is to let viewers message with each other and to the streamer, the meaning of “chat” in the Twitch chat room has changed. Most people use chat room just to send emotes, and only emotes
It’s normal that most of the chatters just spam emotes or highlighted chat in the chat room. This what drives away viewers that want to have a civil discussion, instead of a barrage of emotes in the chat room
Even though according to The Verge, Twitch has changed their stance on hateful conduct and harassment, it’s will not be enough since moderating behavior on Twitch is hard
Majority of Twitch user are teenage boys and adolescents
According to GlobalWebIndex, 41% of the Twitch audience is at the age of 16-24. What makes things worse, 65% of Twitch users are male. We all know how problematic is for a boy at the age of peak puberty. Many angry teenagers and adolescents contribute to the toxicity on Twitch. With almost 50% of Twitch user at an immature age, it’s normal that Twitch itself is so toxic
Because most of Twitch users are boys at the age of puberty, it’s normal that they want the chat room to become chaotic and unpredictable. Because normal and civil stream is boring to teenagers, and they want to have more fun
As long there is one user that initiates toxic behavior or discussion, then many other immature users will follow. Even if you ban them, it will never end.
They can keep creating a new account to disturb and annoy the streamer as an act of revenge. Therefore, as a streamer, you need to be careful dealing with toxic viewers
Some Viewers love to Seek Attention
Many viewers idolize a streamer. Sometimes because there are too many people during a stream, it’s hard to be noticed by the streamer. That’s why they send spam messages to seek attention, so the streamer finally notices their presence. Even if they get punished, they still happy that they get attention from their idols
Attention seekers are always the worst kind of fan. Don’t give them too much attention and make them give up on you. It will much better than letting them destroy the community on your channel
The Loud Minority of Twitch
Even though toxic users are a minority, but they are the loud minority of Twitch’s community bases. Normal viewers rarely use that chat room features. They just watch the streamer play the game and leaves if they are bored. Toxic viewers keep chatting to seek attention and make the chat room chaotic
Most nice user on Twitch doesn’t use the chat features. They just enjoy the stream and close the chat room. Why should they participate in a chat if they are filled with toxic messages?
Toxic gaming culture on Twitch
The thing with toxicity is we can’t separate with gaming culture. Gaming, for a long time, have been associated as a negative way to spend your time
How many gamers are reprimand by their parent in their childhood because they spend their time on gaming? This creates negative energy when teenager play game, especially at an online game where your teammate skill matters
Blaming each other for your defeat, and then, toxicity became normality in the online game
When many gamers started to use Twitch, of course, toxic behavior is already a bad habit that hard to be break. Many people keep sending a toxic message on Twitch, forgetting that Twitch is an open platform that anyone can access, not just 10 people in MOBA games like LoL and Dota 2
What makes thing worse is, internet give everyone the access to do anything without almost any real consequence. You can be toxic to anyone, unless you are canceled, nothing can happen. Bad behavior always left unpunished on the Internet
How to Deal with Toxicity on Twitch as a Streamer
You need to realize that you will never solve the toxicity problem on Twitch. Since you can’t solve it, you must not let these kinds of people influence your mind. Don’t become a toxic streamer, which makes you part of the problem. Be patient, and moderate your chat room. Usually, spammer and trolls will avoid the channels that have good moderation
Ignoring spammer, troll and toxic viewers is the best act as a streamer. It’s normal that in the online world, you can meet people without any degree of shame and decency. Just ignore them, ban them so they stop spamming your chat room and keep streaming
Don’t let toxic people influence your passion for streaming.
How to Deal with Toxic Twitch Chat as a Viewers
Be the person that changes the status quo. Bring change from the inside, started by becoming a positive person in the chat room. Don’t give spammer and troll any attention, which what they desire most
If you see insult and bad behavior in the chat room, report it to the moderators.
If the streamer or the moderators doesn’t want to moderate the chat room, consider finding another streamer that more proactive in moderating their channel.
It’s better to remove negative influences from your life. Don’t stress yourself because of the influence of toxic people
How to moderate toxicity from your channel
Moderating your channel from toxic behavior is hard but simple. Instead of manually moderating your channel, which is a chore, there is a better method to moderate your channel. You can make preparation with Ban, Time out, Chatbot, Slow Mode, and Unique Mode so spam messages in the chat room will be automatically removed without you doing anything during streaming.
There are many ways to moderate your channel, here is the list of methods to moderate your channel from spam and troll
1. Have a Moderators on your channel
Having moderators that watch the chat room will make your stream easier. Any spam and troll message can easily be identified and removed at a quick speed by the moderators. Don’t forget to pay your channel moderators
2. Have a Chat Rules
Having a chat rule on your channel can prevent your viewers from doing bad behavior on your channel. Even though not all your viewers will follow the rule, it will reduce the chance of spam and troll message in the chat room
3. Time out and Ban
Time out will prevent a viewer from messaging for a while. It’s basically a short ban to your viewer that doesn’t follow the rule.
4. Give them a written warning if they violate the rule.
If the viewer keep disrespecting the rule, then you can give them a channel ban so they can’t watch and join the discussion in the chat room
5. Chatbot
A chatbot can help you moderate your channel by creating a spam filter that automatically deletes spam messages. Any Chatbot have this spam removal feature. If you use Chatbot on your channel, then don’t forget to turn on the spam filter
But most toxic message doesn’t come from spam. You can add a new rule on the spam filter so it automatically deletes swear, racism, and insult words.
6. Enable Slow Mode
Slow Mode will automatically give time out to the viewers after they send a message. This will reduce the number of messages in the chat room. It can backslash you, but if you are careful and set the duration for only 10 seconds, it can help you combat toxic viewers
Most Toxic viewers will immediately leave your channel if they know that they can’t spam the chat room. We have already made a thorough guide on how to Enable slow mode on your channel
7. Enable Unique Mode
Unique Mode will automatically remove the same message in the chat room. It will remove all spam messages on your channel. This can backfire you because many Twitch users love to repeat funny messages and meme, so you need to be careful when you enabling this feature
If you decided to turn on Unique mode, you can see how to Enable Unique Mode
Conclusion
Twitch has always be filled with toxicity ever since it began. It’s hard to moderate your channel from toxic viewers. By having moderators and good chatbot spam rules, it can help reduce spam, troll, and toxicity on your channel.
Moderating your channel can help your viewer to have a civil discussion in your chat room. It can improve the mood during your stream