Why does Gen Z watch virtual streaming VTube anime videos with avatars on Twitch?

2.3.1 Voice

Voice perceptions might be a factor influencing parasocial interactions people experience. Vinney and Vinney (2017) found that in audio, people experience higher levels of positive parasocial interactions if they perceive a voice as pleasant. The perception of vocal pleasantness could encourage listeners’ engagement with media characters (Vinney and Vinney 2017). Thus, in the live stream of VTubers, the voice of VTubers might have an impact on viewers’ live stream usage.

2.3.2 Interactions

Moreover, Tian and Hoffner (2010) noted a positive association between certain media characters viewers like and the level of parasocial interactions they experience. This can be modulated in live streaming interactions, as well. Wulf et al. (2021) conducted an experiment about streaming videos on Twitch, where they manipulated the streamer’s attention to the chat. Either the streamer read and answered viewers’ messages, or the stream just looked at the screen without reading or answering any messages. Additionally, the researchers manipulated whether viewers would be thanked by the streamer for subscribing to the channel to observe viewers’ experience of parasocial interactions, enjoyment, and commitment to social norms. Wulf et al. (2021) found that viewers perceived their parasocial interactions with the streamer as more authentic and approachable when the streamer acknowledged their contributions to the chat. Streamers who addressed viewers individually during live streaming had the highest parasocial interaction ratings, as opposed to streamers who addressed viewers collectively and streamers who did not address their viewers at all. Addressing viewers directly was positively associated with viewers’ attention to the live stream, and retainment of viewers over time. And, viewers were less likely to engage in vicious verbal attacks toward the streamers when streamers interacted with them more.

Interaction is also perceived as viewers actively interacting with the streamer and other viewers in live streaming. Park and Lennon (2004) pointed out that the viewers’ tendency to interact with the television presenter positively influences viewers’ experience of parasocial interactions. The live streaming setting allows viewers to engage in real time. For example, they can leave comments and send virtual gifts while watching live streaming. Guan et al. (2019) found that viewers’ active involvement in live streaming can positively impact their experience of parasocial interactions. Additionally, the interaction between viewers helps create a lively atmosphere for the online community and strengthens viewers’ virtual crowd experience (Guan et al. 2014).

2.3.3 Attractiveness

Although viewers may engage in parasocial interactions when they find shared characteristics with media characters, Giles (2002) indicated that parasocial interactions may also occur when viewers have a liking for certain media characters without identification. Rubin and McHugh (1987) measured the importance of social, physical, and task attractiveness for the development of parasocial relationships. To be more specific, social attractiveness refers to viewers’ desire to be friends with media characters who have similarities with them (Rubin and McHugh 1987). Social attractiveness is related to the conversational style which is casual and lively (Duran and Kelly 1988). Physical attractiveness refers to viewers finding media characters physically appealing to them (McCroskey and McCain 1974; Rubin and McHugh 1987). Task attractiveness was defined as an affinity toward someone based on work capability in a task-orientation and the capability to solve media audience’s problem (Preece 2001; Rubin and McHugh 1987; Xiang et al. 2014).

Rubin and McHugh (1987) found that physical attractiveness is slightly significant to viewers’ interest in television personalities. Social attractiveness and task attractiveness play a more important role than physical attractiveness (Rubin and McHugh 1987). However, considering the context of VTubers, the physical appearance of avatars used by VTubers is different from real humans’ (animated), so the avatars’ physical attractiveness might play important role in viewers’ willingness to watch VTubers’ live streaming and interact with them than with other forms of media.

Schramm and Hartmann (2008) argued that character attractiveness might influence parasocial interactions viewers experience besides physical and task attractiveness. Character attractiveness is defined as a media persona’s inner appearance or personality. Knoll et al. (2015) found that the personality of the media character could influence parasocial interactions viewers experience. And, viewers’ experience of parasocial interactions could impact their attitudes toward the brand. The positive character representation is more likely to attract viewers than the negatively portrayed character (Knoll et al. 2015). In this study, the personality would be considered as social attractiveness, which refers to both the designed persona and the true character of the VTuber. Therefore, this paper assumes that the represented personality of VTubers might influence viewers’ experience of parasocial interactions.

2.3.4 Appearance of VTubers

The appearance of VTubers could be a factor influencing the experience of parasocial interactions between VTubers and viewers. Mori et al. (2012) noticed the “uncanny valley” which describes the relationship between human’s affinity for robots and the human-likeness of robots. It shows the variation of human emotional reactions towards the similitude of a robot’s physical appearance and behavior (Brenton et al. 2005). People’s affinity for robots increases as the robots are more human-like, but they will experience a sense of eeriness when they realize that the objects that looked real at first sight are in fact artificial (e.g., prosthetic hand) (Mori et al. 2012).

While interacting with the avatars online, the appearance of VTubers is a key factor influencing how viewers perceive the VTubers (the streamers) and their experiences of participating in live stream channels. Kamide et al. (2014) defined humanness as both external (appearance and movement) and internal (mind and resolution) similarity with humans. Robots and virtual agents with humanlike appearances could enhance people’s perceptions and affinity toward them. VTubers are different from robots, because VTubers are humans who use avatars. Thus, this study focuses more on the appearance and movement of VTubers, which is an external similarity with humans.

The avatars of VTubers similar to anime-characters in cartoons often have unrealistic facial characteristics and expressions, but they may be less likely to become eerie for viewers. Choudhry et al. (2022) found that physical appearance of VTubers is one of the factors that attract viewers. Therefore, this study plans to examine the impact of physical appearance of VTubers on viewers’ willingness to watch their live streamings.

4.1.1 Physical attractiveness

For the question “What characteristic of your favorite VTuber attracts you most,” 77 participants (i.e., 25.6 % of respondents) noted that the VTuber’s avatar is an important factor influencing their decision on VTubers’ live streaming to watch. Some viewers determine which VTuber’s live streaming to watch depending on the avatar of VTubers, e.g., “when the model looks nice,” and “usually it is based on looks at first.” One participant explained in detail why the appearance of a favorite VTuber was most appealing:

Elira’s appearance is very unique. Two-thirds of her models have long cyan colored hair with white tips, something that you don’t see often. Her other hair color (that is usually used on one outfit) is a more silver-blue color that keeps the white tips, but the hairstyle is of a shorter kind and only goes down to her neck. She also has wings on her head that are colored in hair that matches the rest of the hair on her head. All her outfits are also very nice looking.

There were 56 respondents (18.6 %) who reported that the avatars of VTubers are the most important element for them to consider getting to know a VTuber, e.g., “It really depends on the virtual images.” Viewers on Reddit also pointed out, “It’s the model that will draw people in first.” Another participant explained their thought process for choosing a VTuber’s live stream: “A color palette and design that appeals to me will help get my interest. Then it’s the personality/energy, then the content type.” It implies that the appearance of VTubers is a priority for these participants.

Furthermore, 70 participants (23.3 %) pay attention to the voice of VTubers. These respondents mentioned being attracted to a “soft voice” and “calm voice.” The “singing voice” of some VTubers is appealing to them as well. A respondent noted, “Voice, prefer woman voice with slightly good low range and calming voice.” Another respondent explained why the voice of a VTuber is attractive, as illustrated: “Akina has a great singing voice and I enjoy his covers and singing streams a lot. His actual speaking voice is really different, so the gap between how he sings and how he actually sounds while talking is really funny.”

4.1.2 Social attractiveness

Social attractiveness is another factor influencing participants’ choice of a specific VTuber’s live stream to watch. In the question of how participants decide which VTuber’s live streams to watch, 60 respondents (19.9 %) addressed how personality is important for them to select a VTuber’s live streaming. Viewers reported finding it attractive when the personality is perceived as consistent with the character they designed, e.g., “wholesomeness or interesting personality” and “I generally look to watch someone whose personality I enjoy it.” Some members of Reddit communities believed that compared with the avatar of a VTuber, the personality is more important, e.g., “The best avatar in the world can’t help you if you’re boring,” from the posts on Reddit.

Moreover, 92 participants mentioned the personality of VTubers as the most attractive characteristic of their favorite VTuber, i.e., 30.6 % (almost one-third) of respondents were attracted by the voice of their favorite VTuber. The positive and cheerful personality of a VTuber could bring an impact on viewers, e.g., “Found her in a tough part of my life, and her fight against her own issues helped me a lot.” A respondent asserted that “their cheerfulness and can-do attitude” is the most attractive characteristic. VTubers who are cheerful are spirited and happy in their live streaming and bring more positive emotions to viewers, e.g., “She has a really engaging personality and is generally well-spoken of by her coworkers and friends, which is shown in her care for her viewers and fans,” from the posts on Reddit. For some viewers, the personality of a VTuber could even help them to break through the language barrier while watching live streaming, e.g., “She’s very cute and even though I can’t understand what she’s saying her streams bring a smile to my face and I can forget about everything else. Her laugh is especially good at putting me in a better mood.” When the personality of VTubers is not consistent with the previous design, viewers will stop watching live streaming, e.g., another response from Reddit noted, “personality is no longer one I enjoy.”

4.1.3 Task attractiveness

When participants were prompted to report their thought process for deciding which VTube streams they watch, a key factor was task attractiveness. A frequent attractiveness for viewers to watch VTubers’ live streaming is the Japanese culture. There were 35 respondents (11.6 %) who reported watching VTubers’ live streaming because of their interest in Japanese culture. Japanese VTubers’ live streaming can immerse viewers with the Japanese culture. In addition, a viewer shared that learning a different culture from VTubers’ live streaming can develop different ways of thinking, e.g., “Same as watching regular streamers but more in phase with the weeb culture.” ‘Weeb’ is defined as people who are not Japanese but are very interested in Japanese anime and culture. This quote implies that one of the main characteristics that differentiates real-person streamers from VTubers is the Japanese culture delivered by VTubers.

The language frequently attracts viewers to watch VTubers’ live streaming. There were 38 respondents (12.6 %) who reported choosing a VTube stream to watch depends on the language this VTuber speaks. Some respondents prefer to watch VTubers’ live streaming in a language they could easily understand, e.g., “I only watch English VTubers, because I speak English” and “Understanding their language primary and foremost.” A respondent will consider, “If it is a VTuber in a foreign language, it depends on if there is a live translator in chat to help me understand.” In addition, some respondents watch VTubers’ live streaming to learn another language, e.g., “If I’m studying, I’ll pick an English-speaking VTuber, so I don’t need to focus as much; otherwise I watch Japanese speaking VTubers since I’m studying Japanese and it’s decent listening practice.” A respondent also mentioned a “strong desire to learn colloquial and natural patterns of foreign languages” as a reason for watching VTubers’ live streaming.

Furthermore, 44 participants (14.6 %) suggested that content in the live stream impacts their decision about which VTuber to watch, e.g., “appearance is only a little important, but nowhere near as important as content.” VTubers’ live streaming includes diverse types of content and viewers can find their desired live streaming content, e.g., “They do a lot of things I enjoy as hobbies like games and anime-related things,” and “it’s their content that attracts me to actually following a VTuber,” from the posts on Reddit. Respondents mentioned diverse types of content, including “gaming,” “collaboration,” “voice acting,” “Karaoke,” and “chatting.” Thus, when viewers make decisions about VTubers’ live streaming to watch, the priority for them is the content they are interested in, e.g., “My priority is special collaboration, Karaoke, gaming, and chit-chat,” and “I listen to talking or singing streams a lot during my work, so visuals are often not a deciding factor, instead the subject and the person matters more.” In addition, 20 participants mentioned that they watch both VTubers and real-person streamers’ live streaming, depending only on the content of the stream, e.g., “I enjoy watching streamers in general, and I like the kind of gaming and chatting/entertaining content that VTubers provide.”

Additionally, the content of VTubers’ live streaming (n = 117, i.e., 38.9 % of respondents) and time (n = 103, i.e., 34.2 % of respondents) are two major factors influencing viewers to stop watching a VTuber’s live streaming. Respondents revealed that when they lose interest in the content of VTubers’ live streaming, they will be most likely to stop watching it, e.g., “if the game is boring,” “If I am not interested in game or talk topics or collaboration partners, I don’t force myself to watch,” and “if the VTubers get themselves involved in political discourse.” Other respondents shared, “Bad time for me (early in the morning like 2 am), and not interesting content,” and “If it’s very late and I need to sleep, I’ll stop watching a stream.”

4.2.1 Community

Another factor that motivates viewers to watch VTubers’ live streaming is their community (n = 69, i.e., 22.9 % of respondents). Viewers enjoy the receptive atmosphere of the VTubers’ community. The harmonious atmosphere of VTubers’ community allows viewers to socialize with others. A respondent addressed “the wholesome/welcoming community aspect” as an important reason for watching VTubers’ live streaming. Viewers could feel a sense of acceptance in VTubers’ communities, e.g., “It’s a tight knit group that is very accepting” and “I find the sense of community formed around the VTubers I watch comforting and enjoyable.” “How often do they interact with their community and how do they interact specifically” are the characteristics a respondent considers.

The VTubers communities on Reddit have rules for members to make posts, and it welcomes viewers and VTubers to join. Members generally make their posts under different flairs, known as the tags for the posts. Viewers create memes under the ‘Fluff/Meme’ flair. The members create memes to express their identification with VTubers’ viewers. They can ask any VTuber-related questions under the ‘discussion’ flair. The friendly atmosphere here builds a strong sense of community, e.g., the first rule of VirtualYouTubers is “Be nice! Do not demean or harass others.”

4.2.2 Companionship

For the question about viewers’ reasoning for watching VTubers’ live streaming, 95 participants (31.6 %) concluded that watching VTubers’ live streaming is for relaxing e.g., “They make me laugh and make my day better.” Some VTubers have a lively tone and the attractive content of VTubers’ live streaming could comfort them, e.g., “It’s funny and cute, makes me feel happy and cool off.” For some respondents, watching VTubers’ live streaming is for handling stress, e.g., “It’s less destructive than drinking.” Some respondents relied on watching VTubers’ live streaming during the pandemic, e.g., “When I started, I was bored out of my skull during the pandemic, very stressed, 11,000 km away from my family, not knowing if Covid was gonna get me or them. I needed some anchor in those times in which social relationships got nuked and interactions were free and at a distance.”

Some viewers consider VTubers’ live streamings as alternative companionship. They indicated that they played VTubers’ live streamings as “background noise” and “keep me from feeling bored and lonely.” Respondents addressed “parasocial relationships” as the reason for watching VTubers’ live streaming, and “Lots of VTubers have attractive character, and these people between the reality and the fiction fulfills all my fantasies of an ideal romantic partner, good looks, good voice, and a charming personality.” There were 37 respondents (12.3 %) who pointed out that it is joyful and comforting for some respondents to watch VTubers’ live streaming. “It’s emotional support,” shared from the posts on Reddit. Some respondents watch VTubers’ live streaming to alleviate loneliness, e.g., “It makes me feel less alone. I’m agoraphobic and have a series of mental disorders that make it very difficult to maintain family and friend ties. A lot of VTubers have mental disorders and it makes me feel better and less alone.”

4.3.1 Gifting behavior

There were 95 respondents (31.6 %) who have gifted something to a VTuber before. There were no significant gender differences in gifting behavior in this study. According to the responses received, sending gifts to VTubers is a way for them to show their appreciation and support to VTubers, e.g., “Because of their hard work. Content creation is hard.” Their willingness to give gifts to VTubers is influenced by the enjoyment they receive from watching their live streaming rather than whether they are VTubers or real-person live streamers, e.g., “I view it like any other entertainment. If I get enjoyment from it, I’m willing to support the Artist.” There were 37 respondents (i.e., 38.9 % of respondents who have gifted VTubers) who pointed out that they want to be acknowledged by VTubers, so they chose to send gifts to VTubers, e.g., “To support someone who makes me laugh and hopefully to be read by them,” “because it increases the likelihood that the streamer will read my message,” and “I like hearing them respond to me directly, and I appreciate their content and how it makes me feel.”

Opposing this, 86 respondents (28.6 %) believed that it is meaningless to send gifts, as demonstrated in this comment: “I don’t think it’s necessary to spend money on this.” And in addition, 27 respondents (9.0 %) noted that it is desirable to see immediate results after spending money or lasting benefits rather than having a monthly payment. However, the benefits of spending money on Twitch are not obvious, e.g., “on Twitch, the benefits aren’t very visible or useful in my experience.” Some respondents believed that sending gifts to VTubers is only beneficial for VTubers instead of the participants themselves, e.g., “I’ve never felt particularly incentivized to send monetary support, as I prefer to just watch in short bursts. I’m also not particularly used to making online purchases outside of gaming (mainly Steam), so that may contribute as well.”

Moreover, 43 respondents (14.3 %) identified not gifting VTubers because they are still students who are currently not earning money on their own, e.g., “I have other priorities in my life, especially since I am a student and will be having my own responsibilities later on.” Contrary to participants who sent gifts to VTubers to get attention, 20 respondents (6.6 %) indicated that they are not willing to be thanked publicly, e.g., “I prefer to stay anonymous when it comes to money, throwing in money with my name tagged on feels awkward.”

4.3.2 Leaving comments

There were 37 respondents (12.3 %) who occasionally left comments. Some respondents did not intend to get much attention from others while watching live streaming, e.g., “I don’t interact because I have really bad anxiety, so I often stay as a lurker instead.” Some respondents reported only leaving simple comments, such as “greetings” and “goodbye.” Also, some respondents leave comments to show their reactions, e.g., “Most of the time I don’t really type anything in chat, because I’m kind of shy. Instead, I send reaction messages like ‘IMAO’ or ‘NOOO’, depending on what’s happening.”

There were 95 respondents (31.6 %) who actively participate in VTubers’ live streaming. The way of engagement in VTubers’ live streaming is similar to watching real-person streamers, e.g., “use the chat and hear their reaction thoughts.” How the streamers engage with the comments could influence the willingness of some viewers to leave comments. For example, some respondents prefer to “leave comments when they ask something” or “send encouragement during gaming sessions.” Another respondent cited, “I prefer interacting with chat and the VTuber by leaving comments or participating in the live chat. Commenting on the topics they are talking about, sending emotes to cheer during Karaoke or to indicate funny or scary moments, etc.” Leaving comments in live chat could help viewers to build connections with others, e.g., “I always leave comments, and I actually do find some people that I can relate to in the comment sections. We have built the internet friendship.”