As Twitch and live streaming in general evolve overtime, so do the types of content that streamers create on these platforms. One of these recent trends that has almost transcended the typical idea of livestreaming on Twitch is the concept of IRL streaming. These streamers don’t livestream content like speedruns or shiny-Pokemon hunting, but instead stream their everyday lives and the activities they would do during an ordinary day.
However, IRL streaming also has its own share of problems along with it. For example, everything happening during that public stream is caught on camera and broadcasted live – meaning not just the streamer but the people around them too. For example, popular IRL streamer, gogirl_TV, was very nearly assaulted by a mugger during one of her live streams on December 11.
The mugging took place while the streamer was on a trip to Cape Town, South Africa. In the Twitch clip, gogirl_TV and company are walking the streets of Cape Town while streaming and talking to each other. The group continues walking and crosses an intersection, at which point viewers can see the mugger cross the street and approach them.
The mugger than gets in front of the group and tells one of the members of the group not to move. He then wrestlers what appears to be a camera from his hands. The group attempts to confront the mugger, but after brandishing a knife and threatening them, the assailant flees the scene. During the livestream, the group attempted to tail the mugger, and later found a security guard who had their camera. Click here to watch the clip, but note that it contains some strong language.
Unfortunately, incidents like this occur all too often on livestreams, as just recently another streamer appeared to be mugged during a broadcast. Though the incidents seem like they would be rare occurrences, interesting and sometimes dangerous events have always been caught on livestream platforms like Twitch.
Though streaming can be a very lucrative business, with some streamers getting an absurd amount of subscribers and donations each month, streaming can also be a very taxing job. Live streaming is a career path that requires consistency, high-energy, technical knowledge, tons of planning, and a healthy amount of luck. Needless to say, many streamers put a lot of thought and energy into their channels.
Live streaming is an ever-growing industry, gaining more and more traction each passing day. This is clear through platforms like Mixer and Facebook offering exclusive deals to certain streamers. Though it is a job that can be quite lucrative, it also comes with its fair share of challenges, dangers, and hurdles.