The Twitch streamer behind the channel “DansGaming” says he has succeeded in reaching the top on Twitch. But this came at a high price. He cut off all social contacts. His whole life was organized around streaming.
This is what the streamer says: In a Twitch clip, the streamer says he feels lonely and sad. He has lost all social connections to people.
You have to sacrifice a lot if you want to be a streamer. Because you are always on air – day in, day out, all the time.
If you haven’t found a partner before you became a professional streamer, it’s hard to meet someone. You never go out – never go out with friends.
Everything focuses on streaming. Just “Stream, Stream, Stream – Grind, Grind, Grind”, if you want to get ahead. Now he is at the top, but has lost everything along the way.
Conveyor Belt Work on Twitch
What kind of channel is this? The channel “DansGaming” is ranked 133rd on Twitch by followers with about 800,000 people.
It’s a “Variety Gaming” channel. The streamer plays all sorts of things. In the last six months, especially Skyrim, They are Billions, World of Warcraft, Fire Emblem, Days Gone, or Borderlands 3.
Unlike many currently popular streamers who exploded with Fortnite, Dans Gaming has been doing this for a long time.
The tracking site Sullygnome shows that he has been streaming full-time for at least 4 years.
Every Day 10-14 Hours of Twitch for 4 Years
This is what makes the channel special: The statistics show that “Dans Gaming” streams consistently and a lot:
- He has streamed almost every month since at least October 2015 between 180 and 350 hours on Twitch.
- The average German in a full-time job worked an average of 137.25 hours per month in 2018 (via statista).
In the meantime, Dan’sGaming had phases where he was on air for 500 hours a month, then again phases where it was “only” 183 hours – but the average is huge.
And that’s just the time “live on air” – for a professional streamer, additional time is needed for:
- Accounting and taxes
- Negotiations with partners
- Fan management
During Dan’s Gaming streams, an average of about 10,000 people watch him over the last six months.
Insane Time Investment for Streamers Who Have to “Grind”
This is what’s behind it: The Twitch system seduces streamers to self-exploitation. Because it knows no limits.
Those who are very successful have to stream comparatively little because they earn a high hourly wage. Thus, the German streamer, MontanaBlack, is only seen for about 60 to 90 hours a month. He is therefore online 3-4 times less than Dan’s Gaming. But he also has on average 4 times more viewers.
Those with comparatively few viewers have to work and stream many hours to finance their livelihood with Twitch. The everyday “streaming as work” is described as grinding, a treadmill.
Additionally, there is the “It can always be more” effect: Streamers believe they can only grow their channel by working as much as possible and always being on air, otherwise they lose their edge. Viewers forget the channel and turn to competitors in their free time.
The “Twitch” system, which leaves streamers completely free, apparently has some downsides. Dan’sGaming’s example shows what people should consider if they plan to go full-time on Twitch themselves.
