Vivere e sopravvivere nella community videoludica di Twitch Italia = Living and Surviving in gaming community of Twitch Italia

Abstract

Living and Surviving in gaming community of Twitch Italia. In this contribution we present the results of an empirical study on the interactive entertainment in the gaming community of Twitch Italia. The research conducted so far on the co-evolution of the Twitch platform and community has focused on the quantitative flow of the audience; on gaming entertainment and e-sport; and on the communicative style. In the Italian context there is still a lack of systematic studies on the organization of virtual relations from a sociological point of view. We have observed Twitch Italia community in the perspective of Douglas' grid-group model and Bourdieu's field analysis, using digital ethnography's method and semi-structured interviews with streamers and audience. We describe here three processes: digital socialization, from the acquisition of digital skills to the internalization of community's values and norms; collective organization of interactive entertainment; the impact of monetization on the communicative pact with the followers. The analysis conducted allows to identify some motives of tension within the community and the strategies adopted in the process professionalization by young streamers in the transition to adulthood.