Streaming into the Void: An Analysis of Microstreaming Trends and Behaviors Utilizing a Demand Framework

Abstract

This work introduces the concept of ‘microstreaming’ to describe individuals who livestream their hobbies to small audiences for little to no financial reward. Much research into streaming focuses on revenue and transactional costs from a labor/playbor perspective, but such approaches do not completely capture the largely intrinsic typical of ‘microstreamers.’ Recent research into microstreamers employing a range of methods across observational and laboratory settings pointed to a range of cognitive, emotional, physical, and social demands reported—some that detracted from and some that enhanced the experience. These examples suggest that a demand framework is another important model for examining microstreamers, which has implications for understating microstreaming behaviors and experiences across multiple platforms and interactions.