Sodapoppin Wants to See Changes to Twitch’s IRL Section
Longtime Twitch streamer Chance “Sodapoppin” Morris discussed on a recent live stream the issue he feels is plaguing the IRL section on the site, and that he hopes Twitch makes changes.
Twitch as a platform is focused largely on video game streams, but there is a large community of ‘IRL’ (In Real Life) streamers and an even larger audience for their content.
Twitch itself was previously intended for IRL type streaming, back when it was known as ‘Justin.tv’, and Twitch was the smaller video game only section.
However, as the video game section became larger, eventually dwarfing IRL streams, the site changed focus entirely.
There is now a single section dedicated to IRL streams, those not playing any kind of video game, and features a mixture of content from people streaming their daily lives to specific shows discussing certain topics or just addressing their fans.
One such sub-section of IRL streaming is known as ‘ASMR’ (Autonomous sensory meridian response),also known as “brain massage,” it involves ‘placid sights and sounds’ such as whispers, accents, and crackles.
It is a niche genre but one that is certainly growing on Twitch, but Sodapoppin believes it has got to the point where it should now be dedicated its own section, so to avoid taking over other IRL content.
“When is Twitch going to get rid of ASMR? Or not get rid of it – but give it its own section?
It needs its own section, or you need a way to filter it out. Because I like going to the IRL section, there is just funny shit there, especially when you get down to like the 100 viewer range.
Why do I have to ignore like half of these streams, because they are ASMR? I get that people like it, and that’s fine, but why is it in the IRL [section]? The IRL should not be half ASMR.”
Currently, Twitch has other sections such as Creative, Music or Talk Show, to filter the IRL streams more and avoid flooding of the dedicated IRL section.
With the popularity of ASMR currently, it could well justify its own section, similar to how Talk Show or Creative are filtered separately to IRL.