Twitch has exploded in popularity over the past few years. It went from a small streaming platform where nerds (like myself) would get together to watch their friends play video games, to now being mainstream with millions of viewers each month.

Even professional athletes like Meyers Leonard and Gordon Hayward have Twitch Channels now where they stream video games.

If you want to know why people watch Twitch and why Twitch continues to grow then keep on scrolling.

Why do People Watch Twitch?

The three main reasons that people watch Twitch are for entertainment, community and to improve at the video game they are watching. Ofcourse, there could be hundreds of other reasons as to why someone chooses to watch Twitch, but those are the three main reasons.

Entertainment

Dude straight up, Twitch can be VERY entertaining to watch. From watching Dr. Disrespect play, with a fake mullet, fake mustache and all kinds of other crazy cool special effects going on in his background, to listening to Timthetatman yelling because of the game he is playing, Twitch is just pure entertainment.

As I mentioned in the intro, Twitch started off as being mostly just a bunch of nerds (again, like myself) who logged on to watch their buddies play video games to now being a full blown platform similar to Youtube, Facebook or Google.  

People no longer log on to Twitch just to watch people play video games. Twitch has evolved into more than just video games.

In fact, if you log on to Twitch today you will see several channels about things such as painting, exercise, music and other things that people are interested in. 

There is even a section called “Just Chatting” where people just sit and chat with their viewers. 

Again, Twitch has become a great way for people to keep themselves entertained as they go throughout their day. Twitch is always live and so you know there will always be something fresh and new that you can tune into to pass the time.

Community

Not only has Twitch become popular because of its well known streamers, many people tune in to Twitch streams to be part of a community as well.

With literally thousands of streamers on Twitch you are sure to find a community that fits what you want, if community is what you are looking for.

As I talked about above, there are channels about art, music, gaming, health, you name it. Literally thousands of channels with thousands of broadcasters and so you will no doubt be able to find a channel that fits you.

Even if you are just looking for someone to talk to, there are “Just Chatting” channels where you can meet and interact with people online. You can just chill and talk to people, as well as interact with the streamer.

If you are wanting to be a part of a community and make friends on Twitch, then you will probably want to be a part of a smaller stream.

Although the bigger streams have bigger audiences, you will more than likely get drowned out in the chat with tons of people spamming emotes and commenting.

Not to mention the streamers themselves are much less likely to interact with you when they have 10, 20 or 30 thousand plus tuned into their stream. 

In these giant streams you are just a small fish in a giant ocean of people. The only time you will get any recognition from the streamer, or by people in chat, is if you donate or gift subs consistently. But who has the money to do that? Not me.

Now on the other hand, smaller streams give you more chances to talk to the streamer as well as other people in the chat.

There’s usually less spammers and less people for the streamer to focus on. In my opinion, if you are looking for a channel where you can be part of a community, stick to streams with one thousand viewers or less in them. 

I have noticed that over the one thousand viewers mark things get a little weird. And by weird I mean over crowded and busy. 

So if you are looking for a stream with a lot going on such as promotions, giveaways and tourneys then you will want to stick to the bigger streams.

However, if you are looking to meet and interact with others then smaller streams will be the move for you. Both are a community, there are just pros and cons to channels of different sizes. 

And lastly it is cool sometimes to see the small streamer you supported from the beginning rise up and become more popular. Knowing you were part of the community from the beginning is a cool feeling. 

Learn Ways to Improve at a Certain Video Game

The last of the reasons for which people tune in to watch Twitch is to learn ways to improve at the videogame they are watching. I know for me this is a big reason why I tune in to watch certain streamers.

The thing is that many of these streamers are really really good at the games they play. I mean what would you expect from people who play videogames for a living?

With that being said, streamers who stream full time are great to watch for tips, tricks and strategies to improve at the game you play. 

Some of the streamers even do commentaries while they stream where they break down what they are doing and why they are doing them. 

When Fortnite was at its peak I was always watching the pros stream in order to learn how to build and react in certain situations. I can honestly say that watching these pros really helped me to improve.

Although most of us do not game competitively, we don’t want to suck at the game either. It’s no fun to play a game that you just get destroyed on everytime you play it!

Watching these streamers who are really good at the game you play can really help you improve.

What do People Watch on Twitch?

People watch all kinds of things on Twitch from their favorite video games to people playing music. There are art channels, health channels and even channels where people are “Just Chatting”. Any legit hobby or pastime that you can think of can probably be found on Twitch.

As I touched on earlier, Twitch has evolved from being all about gamers to be all about anything really. 24/7, 365 there is someone streaming something on Twitch.

You can even find people streaming old games that you used to play when you were kids. There may not be a lot of viewers for such a game, but the nostalgia seeing that game being played is a pretty sweet experience. 

Twitch continues to grow with a 12% increase in total hours watched from 2018-2019 so there is no doubt that you should be able to find something that you enjoy.

As always, if you have any questions or just want to hang with me, stop by my Twitch channel here and say what’s up!

People watch Twitch for a bunch of reasons with entertainment, community and watching for ways to improve at a video game being the main reasons. 

There are tons of things that you can watch on Twitch and so you should have no problems finding ways to pass the time on Twitch.

Twitch is awesome! There are so many interesting channels with so many interesting characters that there are so many reasons to watch Twitch. So hop on and enjoy the fun streams!