WORLD OF STREAMING
The world of streaming is currently experiencing an unprecedented boom. What was once a niche corner of the internet focused on gaming has become a global industry worth around $100 billion, up from $87.5 billion in 2023, and it is projected to rise to $345 billion by 2030. Live stream watch-time has doubled since 2019 to over 32.5 billion hours a year, with over 7 million active streamers on Twitch alone, and now over 28% of all internet users watch live streams every week. As more platforms and streamers compete for attention, the pressure is mounting on creators to escalate spectacle, risk and extremity— fostering a digital ecosystem where performative identity, toxicity, voyeurism and real-time monetised notoriety are increasingly the norm.
STREAMING NUMBERS
$100 Billion
Global industry as of 2024
32.5 Billion
Watch hours in 2024
28%
Online users watch streams
7 Million
Active Streamers on Twitch
STREAMING CULTURE
In 2025 alone, a high-profile streamer (Jean Pormanove) in France died live on stream after years of humiliating pranks, violent “challenge” broadcasts and audience-driven abuse. Another recent case saw a popular streamer (Jalen Melton) live-stream a high-speed car ride that ended in a crash, all caught on camera. We’ve seen fake live-streamed funerals seeking to exploit grief for profit, “hate raids” targeting marginalised creators with coordinated harassment, and numerous examples of degrading or violent content aimed at gaining views through morbid curiosity.
In spite of these cautionary tales, platforms continue to reward extreme behaviour, recklessness, and public spectacle. This pushes creators to create evermore exaggerated performative identities, especially hyper-masculine and provocative ones, which show in real time how identity shifts under audience pressure. These audience demands are often monetised through donations, subscriptions, and views, encouraging creators into producing increasingly shocking content.
This phenomenon shows now sign of slowing, and as expectations grow, streamers push the boundaries of content further and further, at times spiralling into real trauma, abuse, and even death— all broadcasted, all public, with audience complicity. These are not edge-case anomalies, but part of a growing pattern in global streaming culture. “Hey Guys” speaks to this precarious moment: where performative identity, voyeuristic audiences, and ruthless monetisation collide— transforming entertainment into social experiment, public trial, and emotional turmoil.
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