Exploring Associations Among Game Play, Streamer Speech, and Viewer Chat on Livestreaming Media: A Focus on Aggressive Content

This study examines how different media dimensions interact with each other on the livestreaming platform, Twitch, focusing on aggressive content. The study investigates associations among three types of aggression on Twitch—violent game play, streamer aggressive speech, and viewer chat aggression. To measure each type, both manual content analysis and automated text analysis were employed; human coders assessed violent game play and streamer aggression, while viewer chat aggression was measured using Hatesonar, a natural language processing package based on machine learning. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that while violent game play was not significantly associated with streamer aggressive speech or viewer chat aggression, there was a significant positive association between streamer aggression and viewer aggression. Additionally, a noteworthy interaction effect was observed: violent game play significantly weakened the positive relationship between streamer aggression and viewer aggression.