🎠The Golden Cage of Streamers
I know, I know — I haven’t posted a thing in over a year, and now suddenly three posts in a row!
What’s going on? Is it me, or an imposter?
Well, surprise surprise — it is me. I finally had both the time and the reason to make this post.
A few days ago, I wrote about my return to streaming:
👉 To Twitch or Not – Behold the Question
And yes, I actually went live — twice in one day! You can still find them on my
Twitch channel.
The first was an IRL stream with a friend in Saronida, a nearby suburb, and the second was a chill chat about the upcoming Sabaton concert I’ll be attending (Release Athens 2026 – Sabaton, Savatage & Epica), plus a bit of Dune: Awakening and Total War: Rome II talk.
As I mentioned during the streams, I can’t promise I’ll be doing this every weekend.
Real life is… a lot. It might sound harsh, but it’s true — what some call a “busy week,” for me is just a weekend. Sorry, but that’s the reality.
That time off, however, gave me the chance to reflect — on what I want from my channel, and from my community and some bullets have to be fired.
“Today I killed, he was just a boy
Eight before him, I knew them all
In the fields a dying oath
I’d kill them all to save my own”
Let’s start with this: I’m not here to please everyone.
That’s not my goal, and it never will be.
I have my own rules and principles.
If I end up streaming to myself, I’m fine with that.
Until recently, I was part of two streaming communities, well I remain part of other healthy communities.
One averaged around 30–40 viewers, the other about 15.
Sure, both are technically “larger” than my humble 3 viewers on my first stream, but they’re still relatively small channels — and that’s fine.
Both streamers, funny and charismatic women from South Africa, found themselves inside what I call “the golden cage of Twitch donations.”
Now, I understand.
Different economies, different realities.
What’s five euros to me might feel like twenty (or more) to them.
Even a €100 payment in my world doesn’t stretch far — but somewhere else, that could be someone’s monthly income.
It is what it is.
For context, I’m not a high earner either.
Far from it.
For my age, education, and certifications, I’m underpaid.
Still, I’d never rely on donations, nor ask for them.
No judgment to those who do — as I’ve said before, you do you, I do me.
Here’s where it gets complicated:
Both of these streamers have a long-time subscriber from the Netherlands — a viewer who donate and gift subs generously, every month.
Again — their money, their choice. The platform allows it, even encourages it.
That’s not my problem.
“Deliver me from this war
It’s not for me it’s because of you
Devil seems; my eternity
Obey to kill to save yourself”
My problem is the pattern I’ve seen is that both streamers started dancing to the rhythm of that donor.
Does this donor crave Subnautica? The streamers stream Subnautica.
Does this donor crave Little Nightmares? The streamers stream Little Nightmares.
I am sure you see where this goes, right?
And that’s where the freedom of creation slowly turns into a silent form of servitude.
Why do I write this now?
Well, I am writing this now but I have voiced my concerns plenty of times in both channels.
I have even offered suggestions for alternative games — hell, I’ve even gifted them games!
But I guess my donations don’t reach as deep as the ones from the Netherlands. No other excuse.
Unless, of course, their channel descriptions are pure lies.
As I was writing this, I had “10th Man Down” by Nightwish playing in the background.
Some lyrics hit differently when you’ve seen creators fall one by one for the wrong reasons.
“Cut me free, bleed with me, oh no
One by one, we will fall, down down
Hold on tight, this ain’t my fight.”
It’s poetic, really. They fight a war that isn’t theirs — a war for attention, validation, and digital survival.
And the worst part? They don’t even see the cage anymore. They’ve decorated it with RGB lights and call it home.
It is a war that has been declared on me and I ACCEPT IT — but unlike the song, I won’t be the 10th man down.
I won’t trade integrity for convenience, nor truth for applause. I will stream when I want, play what I want, and speak my mind even if it echoes back from an empty chat.
To those still fighting for their voice: don’t let the clinking of coins drown your heartbeat. The algorithm doesn’t own you, the donors don’t define you, and validation is not salvation.
Break the golden cage. Stream free or don’t stream at all.
Closing thoughts
I am not an academic nor a scientist (also you, Phoebe — you claim you are a scientist because you are in a lab; other than that, I’m sorry to call you out like this, but you are a phony!).
However, I am a person of integrity and high moral values that do not spring from holy books that all claim to have the absolute truth yet contradict each other and share nothing true within them.
They can’t all be true at the same time — but they can (and are) all wrong in absolutely everything!I never thought there would be studies on the topic of “influencers” being played in their own yard by phat wallets, but evidently there are — and here they are!
đź“š References & Further Reading
Chou, C. C. & Nguyen, P. T. (2022). Understanding Donation Intention in Live-Streaming: A Dedication-Constraint Approach.
Excerpt (Fair Use): “Viewers’ willingness to donate is driven by relational dedication and perceived reciprocity. Streamers who overemphasize donation incentives risk transforming genuine community engagement into transactional dependence.”
Read the study (ICEB Proceedings, 2022)
Fargetta, M., Khouja, M., & Wang, H. (2025). Analyzing Interactions in Donation-Based Live Streaming Platforms: A Multi-Leader-Follower Game Approach.
Excerpt (Fair Use): “The model demonstrates that streamers adjust both content and schedule to maximize donation flows, effectively letting donor preferences guide strategic decisions.”
Read the study (Springer, 2025)
Nguyen Ngoc Thanh (2025). How Tip Culture in Livestreaming Affects Content Supply among Streamers.
Excerpt (Fair Use): “Tip-driven culture fosters content convergence — creators adapt towards the genres and tones that attract larger tipping audiences, reducing creative diversity.”
Read the paper (SSRN, 2025)
Idiz, F. (2025). Dependence in the Online Screen Industry.
Excerpt (Fair Use): “Economic, algorithmic, and social dependencies intertwine, shaping creative labor in the digital screen economy.”
Read the study (Media, Culture & Society, 2025)
All excerpts are reproduced under fair use for commentary, criticism, and educational discussion purposes.
Full papers remain the property of their respective publishers and authors.
Stream free — or don’t stream at all.
