Hateful communication in Twitch.tv: a Routine Activity Theory perspective

• In Event: Crime and social Networks

Abstract

Social media platforms encompass various microenvironments where criminogenic characteristics can vary, each constituting a cyber place. Routine activities in cyberspace have shifted to new venues, including live streaming communities. These are environments led by a content creator, whose economic success depends on fostering a strong sense of belonging among users to a community. While some studies have identified toxic behaviors in these environments, the criminogenic characteristics of these spaces remain a relatively unexplored field. For this reason, the aim of this study was to identify criminogenic factors in the design of cyber places and analyze their influence on rates of violent and hateful communication on Twitch.tv. We started from the hypothesis that certain characteristics of the cyber place, such as the type of contact facilitated by the platform, informal control, the type of activity conducted by the streamer, and their gender, influence the prevalence of victimization. To this end, we collected a random sample of 180 streams from 60 Spanish-speaking streamers and gathered data on channel size, streamer gender, chat rules and restrictions, category, duration, views, and chat content. To analyze violent and hateful communication in the 1,230,721 chat messages, we used Google's Perspective API algorithm and a judge who analyzed a representative sample of the messages based on Miró Llinares' (2016) Taxonomy of Violent Communication and Hate Speech on the Internet. Descriptive, bivariate, and binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to predict the presence of violent communication in the chat based on cyber place variables. Preliminary results show that violent and hateful communication is concentrated in criminogenic cyber places on Twitch, particularly in less popular channels, competitive video games, chats without behavioral rules or restrictions, and male-led channels. Establishing informal control measures and promoting positive values are key to preventing these behaviors.

Authors

• Alba Díaz Ortega, Crimina Center, Miguel Hernández University of Elche

• Mario Santisteban Galarza, Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche

• Jesús Aguerri, CRÍMINA Center, University Miguel Hernández of Elche