![]() With Channel Points, users can buy special emojis to be used in chats. Dominated by professional gamers, Twitch operates a similar model where viewers accrue Channel Points for as long as they are watching a stream. Amazon’s Twitch platform remains an exemplary case of a streaming platform that sells live interaction, with more than seven million active streamers. TikTok’s transactional approach to intimacy is not new. The NPC streaming trend involves performing a cycle of non-sequitur dialogue and actions. In NPC streaming, not only is gifting tied to real-world currency but gifts incite the streamer to move. ![]() Scholars have previously used “ gift economy” to describe the unpaid rewards that prompt us to share with each other (for example, writing fan fiction without remuneration). These broadcasts offer built-in incentives to keep engagement going. Squeals, catchphrases, lip smacking and a myriad of gestures result. NPC streamers then react accordingly to the specific image on their screen. NPC streaming depends on the purchase and posting of “gifts.” Buying an NPC streamer a virtual gift triggers a chain reaction of the absurd: the gift will appear in a creator’s stream as emojis like ice cream cones, balloons, or even squids. NPC streamers are thus already established creators familiar with commodifying our attention. TikTok offers live video streaming to users with at least 1,000 followers. Their apps offer an easy interface between broadcasters and audiences, who interact with each other in real-time via voice and chat. Livestreaming represents an increasingly vital part of the social media business models of companies like YouTube and Instagram. The rise of NPC streaming showcases how gamer cultures and adult content make for lucrative bedfellows. Some touted NPC-ing as a triumph for “fetish videos.” Others argue that labelling NPC content as “fetish” expands digital surveillance and moral panic against sex workers.Ī number of popular NPC streamers also produce paywalled adult content on sites like OnlyFans. Pinkydoll credits the backgrounds citizens of the Grand Theft Auto video game as the inspiration for her performances. With this trend, more TikTokers have found incentive to become living game pieces for a digital public. Top content creators can earn thousands of dollars a day online. In July 2023, videos featuring creators like Pinkydoll - mostly thin, conventionally attractive women - went viral to the confusion of millions. NPC streamers perform a cycle of non-sequitur dialogue, cartoonish stares and physical jolts for no purpose besides ambience in a virtual world. Think of background characters that might perform a few preprogrammed lines or actions. The trend draws its name from the non-playable characters (NPCs) of video games. Pinkydoll is a Montréal-based social media creator who has become the face of TikTok’s latest trend: NPC streaming. Your screen brightens with emojis of food, roses and stars purchased by her audience. Holding a hair straightener, she plays with popcorn kernels and audibly pops her lips. “Yes, yes… mmm, mmm ice cream so good,” coos a platinum-haired woman known on TikTok as Pinkydoll.
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