“Twitch Livestreams Saved My Life” — Q&A

Throughout this entire pandemic, there have been many ways in which people cope with the change in their lifestyle and the current trauma. Many have found avenues in which they can find their solace and feel human again. One of the newer ways of finding one’s “happy place” is through livestreams. In these livestreams, the streamer has the opportunity to interact with the viewers in real-time and talk about a variety of topics for hours on end. In the case of Oliver Blank, he found his solace from rapper Jean Grae’s livestreams. During her shows, she delivers uplifting sermons that can make anyone’s day better. More about that here.

In this case, I, Daniel Chavez, decided to interview Twitch streamer and viewer Mavynnnn and ask her (through call) about her experiences and how Twitch streams have had a positive influence on life. This interview has been edited.

Why did you start streaming?

I have been watching streams throughout all of quarantine and I have grown to love all the people I’ve met through my interactions. I have been so supportive of them and I feel that they’re a big part of my day-to-day life now. I find much of my happiness through them and I would not be the same without them. I decided that I want to do that; I want to create a community full of great people who can escape the current situation going on and talk to many people. It’s a place where people can find friends and share whatever is going on in their life. I’ve also found some of the greatest people through livestreaming and I don’t regret it at all. I’m just hoping I can make people happy.

What do you have such a deep connection to these streamers?

I honestly… don’t have any idea. I used to just watch YouTube videos and not interact with the person that I’m watching. But with Twitch, the person I’m watching can talk to me individually. If I’m having a bad day, I go directly to them and either try to forget about it or we talk about it. The people there are so supportive and are always ready to listen to whatever I have to talk about. I feel that they really do care about what I have to say and it’s basically having a friend.

What other aspects of Twitch help with your mental health?

Whenever this one streamer plays a game called Among Us, he allows the people from his chat to play with him. It’s so much fun because I get to talk directly to the streamer and the other people in the call and its great meeting new people. Whenever I stream though, people can donate money to me to show their appreciation and that is just awesome to me. How can me just streaming and talking to people make people donate? It’s incredible to me and it makes me so happy.

What would you say to people who do not really know how all this work?

I’d say that they need to spend some time with a good streamer and see how their mind changes. I was skeptical about this as well and thought it was a waste of time, but as time went on, I really grew to love livestreaming. I love streaming and watching streams.

Honestly, thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to talk with me and I really like what you’re doing in your streams. You do make people’s days better and I wish you the best.

Thanks for having me! This was a lot of fun and I’m glad I was able to make your day a little bit better.

If you would like more of an explanation of Among Us and how it helps with mental health, click here.

If you would like another example in which mental health is being improved through streams, click this link.

If you would like to check out Mavyn’s streams, click here.