Journal of Information Technology & Politics ISSN: 1933-1681 (Print) 1933-169X (Online) Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/witp20 Using Twitch for politics? The role of personality across five countries Christian Pieter Hoffmann, Thomas Feiler & Shelley Boulianne To cite this article: Christian Pieter Hoffmann, Thomas Feiler & Shelley Boulianne (11 Jul 2025): Using Twitch for politics? The role of personality across five countries, Journal of Information Technology & Politics, DOI: 10.1080/19331681.2025.2530438 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2025.2530438 © 2025 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Published online: 11 Jul 2025. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 776 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=witp20 JOURNAL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & POLITICS https://doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2025.2530438 Using Twitch for politics? The role of personality across five countries Christian Pieter Hoffmann , Thomas Feiler , and Shelley Boulianne ABSTRACT KEYWORDS Twitch is a popular live-streaming platform primarily used in the context of gaming. Streamers tend to be very sensitive to the content shared in their streams, often eschewing political content. At the same time, the platform is increasingly used by political actors, activists, journalists and political influencers. In this study, we offer insights into the extent to which Twitch is used for political purposes using a five-country (US, UK, France, Canada, and Germany) survey collected in 2023 (n = 7,500). With this large sample, we are able to focus on a subset of respondents who use Twitch (n = 1,552). We examine the role of the Big Five personality traits in explaining exposure to political information and posting of political content on Twitch. Extraversion positively relates to political information and posting on Twitch, whereas agreeableness and conscientiousness nega­ tively relate to both. This study is important because citizens are diversifying their platform use and little is known about Twitch and its political uses. Already, Twitch content reaches a significant group, particularly those who are young, male, politically interested, and identify as right-wing. Understanding this user group helps explain political behaviors on a widely used but understudied platform. Twitch; live-streaming; personality; political information; political expression Introduction Twitch is the most frequently used live-streaming app globally (Jackson & Johnson, 2024). It enables users to become streamers by starting their own channel, streaming whatever content they like (Burroughs & Rama, 2015). Twitch differs from other video and streaming platforms due to its unique combination of features facilitating stream­ ing, interaction, and community-building (S. L. Anderson, 2017; Ask et al., 2019). In August 2024, on average, 2.3 million viewers watched over 1.7 billion hours of streaming content per hour, and 93,682 channels streamed 69 million hours of content (Sullygnome, 2024). During the COVID-19 pandemic, Twitch and the livestreaming industry grew by leaps and bounds (Navarro & Tapiador, 2023). According to Pew Research Center, 6% of the American population uses Twitch (Shearer & Mitchell, 2021), but among teens, the percentage is as high as 20% (M. Anderson et al., 2023). In a cross-national survey of the US, UK, France, and Canada in 2021 (n = 6,068), 18% of online respondents reported using Twitch in the past 12 months, especially young adults and males (Boulianne & Lee, 2022). CONTACT Christian Pieter Hoffmann christian.hoffmann@uni-leipzig.de Nikolaisxtrasse 27–29, Leipzig 04109, Germany To date, Twitch has rarely been studied in the context of politics. Yet, the platform has been described as an alternative to broadcast media for young users (de la Feunte Prieto et al., 2022). In fact, the audiences of successful streamers regularly sur­ pass those of broadcast media (Sjöblom et al., 2019). Younger users, in particular, use Twitch for infor­ mation and social interaction (Gamir-Ríos et al., 2024; Sjöblom et al., 2017). Twitch has long been focused on videogaming content (Taylor, 2019). However, since Amazon bought the platform in 2014, it has invested in broadening the range of available content to include topics as diverse as arts, science, and politics (Artwick, 2019; Jacobs & Booth, 2021; Navarro & Tapiador, 2023). While Twitch use among parties and intermedi­ aries is still rare (Iranzo-Cabrera & CaseroRipollés, 2023), an increasing number of political influencers and alternative journalists employ the platform (Foxman et al., 2024; Harris et al., 2023; Johnson & Woodcock, 2019). Political activists also attempt to infuse politics into discourses on Twitch (Munoz, 2021). American youth have used this platform to criticize Trump Literat and KliglerVilenchik (2019). The proliferation of politics on Institute of Communication and Media Studies, University of Leipzig, © 2025 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. 2 C. P. HOFFMANN ET AL. Twitch has been met with criticism and outright resistance by streamers and long-term, gamingfocused users (Diwanji et al., 2020; Gamir-Ríos et al., 2024; Leith, 2021; Ruiz-Bravo et al., 2022). This raises the question of what characterizes those individuals using Twitch for politics. This study will examine two political variables, political information and political expression (cf., Lane et al., 2022) on Twitch. This is the first study to use quantitative survey data collected in five countries (n = 1,552) to examine political uses of Twitch. Aside from socio-demographic variables, this study will focus on the role of personality. Specifically, we will examine the role of the Big Five personality traits – extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism (Costa & McCrae, 1985; McCrae & Costa, 1985) – in political uses of Twitch. There is an increasing body of evidence on the role of personality in social media use, in general, and online political engage­ ment, in particular – finding that traits like extra­ version and openness facilitate political expression, while others, like agreeableness, may impede it (Bromme et al., 2022; Boulianne & Galipeau, 2024; Boulianne & Koc-Michalska, 2022; Russo & Amnå, 2016; Valli & Nai, 2023). We focus on Twitch, a platform on which political behavior appears rare and is considered contentious (RuizBravo et al., 2022). Twitch, therefore, offers a novel and distinctive online environment to study the relationship between personality and online politi­ cal engagement. We find that extraversion positively relates to exposure to and posting of political content on Twitch, whereas agreeableness and conscien­ tiousness show negative relationships to both. Contrary to our expectations, openness nega­ tively relates to our key variables. Neuroticism does not relate to political information or posting on Twitch. Political interest and (right-wing) political ideology also positively relate to both dependent variables. Compared to the US, users in the other four examined countries report lower frequencies of exposure to political content on Twitch, but there are no significant differences in the frequency of posting. Overall, the model fit for political expression is high, which means we have a strong model able to explain the variation in this activity. This study offers several contributions. It is the first to examine the prevalence and predictors of political uses of the popular streaming platform Twitch. While politics remains a relatively small segment of Twitch content, this content often pro­ liferates beyond the platform. Live-streamed con­ tent can be edited and implemented as short video clips, audio material, or screenshots into news reporting (Artwick, 2019). It is often shared on various social media platforms, such as YouTube (Ask et al., 2019; Taylor, 2019). Twitch is increas­ ingly used in the context of news, for example, to stream events (e.g., rallies, town hall meetings, news conferences), breaking news, or chat format programs with the streamer serving as host (Artwick, 2019). We add to research on online political information and expression by covering the usage of Twitch in five countries. These insights are of particular importance to research on young citizens’ online political engagement (Andersen et al., 2021; Boulianne & Theocharis, 2020; Eddy, 2022), given its rapidly growing popularity among youth. We also add to the emergent literature on personality and online politics, highlighting the particular context of a platform on which politics is not just rare but often outright discouraged (Ruiz-Bravo et al., 2022). Finally, we add to the growing body of research on Twitch by highlight­ ing its usage in politics. Streaming and politics on Twitch On Twitch, streamers maintain channels as perso­ nalized digital spaces through which they can livebroadcast their content (H. R. Gerber & Botzakis, 2017; Navarro & Tapiador, 2023). Twitch offers an easy-to-use software interface, so setting up a stream is convenient and free (Ask et al., 2019). A Twitch-stream focused on gaming typically con­ sists of a main screen showing the live (audiovisual) stream of the videogame being played from the gamer’s perspective, plus a boxed-off additional video and audio feed of the streamer, captured via webcam and microphone (S. L. Anderson, 2017; Sjöblom et al., 2019). A synchronous real-time online chat is depicted on the stream’s side. It allows for interactions between viewers and strea­ mers as well as among viewers (S. L. Anderson, 2017; H. R. Gerber & Botzakis, 2017). JOURNAL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & POLITICS Most Twitch users take on the more passive role of viewers, following and subscribing to streamers (H. R. Gerber & Botzakis, 2017; Navarro & Tapiador, 2023). In addition, some users support their favorite streamers by moderating chats; these users are called “mods” (H. R. Gerber & Botzakis, 2017; Taylor, 2019). A live stream can be watched by a handful of viewers or many thousands (Burroughs & Rama, 2015; Hamilton et al., 2014). Over time, the professionalization of Twitch strea­ mers has increased (Törhönen et al., 2020). A study of Spanish Twitch streamers found that about 22.4 percent of streamers produce content regu­ larly and at a professional level, generating over 80 percent of all content (Padilla Molina & Navarro, 2022). Streamers foster parasocial rela­ tionships with viewers and fans by reading and responding to messages from the chat and by maintaining a lively presence on various social media platforms (S. L. Anderson, 2017; Diwanji et al., 2020; Kim & Kim, 2022; Sheng & Kairam, 2020; Sherrick et al., 2023). Social aspects have been identified as the predominant motivator for view­ ers to watch and donate to their favorite streamer (Kneisel & Sternadori, 2023; Wohn et al., 2018). Streamers tend to be very sensitive to the content shared in their streams, including the chats – e.g., taking action against trolling (Golf-Papez & Veer, 2022). As audiences grow larger, live conversations become more difficult to monitor and moderate (Ruiz-Bravo et al., 2022; Seering et al., 2017). Trolling (Golf-Papez & Veer, 2022), toxicity (Poyane, 2019), harassment and bigotry have been identified as challenges for Twitch streamers (Ask et al., 2019). Mihailova (2022) found that in gaming streams, cursing, sarcasm, and jokes often occur in conjunction with exclusionary language. To com­ bat incivility and hate speech, Twitch may sanction streamers (Ask et al., 2019; O’Connor, 2021; Partin, 2023). Streamers, especially gaming streamers, are therefore eager to avoid contentious topics and often discourage political discussions in their streams. At the same time, political actors increasingly incorporate live-streaming into their online com­ munications portfolio: President Donald Trump had his State of the Union address live-streamed, and Senator Bernie Sanders live-streamed his response to the address on Facebook Live; former 3 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi used Periscope for her live stream, and other politicians have livestreamed their speeches in memory of victims of gun violence (Artwick, 2019). Therefore, RocaTrenchs et al. (2023) argue that Twitch holds pro­ mise as an effective tool for political communication (i.e., real-time interactions, mixing politics with entertainment, lack of gatekeepers). Yet, they found that only a few political parties in Spain maintain a Twitch presence, and those who do only use it sporadically. Iranzo-Cabrera and CaseroRipollés (2023) found that politicians’ appearances on Twitch can make them appear more authentic and can facilitate dialogue with citizens. Some political commentators reach sizable audi­ ences on Twitch (Foxman et al., 2024; Harris et al., 2023). Non-institutional journalists (e.g., Hassan Piker) have also used the platform for reporting purposes (cf. Johnson & Woodcock, 2019). Munoz (2021) finds that cyber-activists use Twitch to quickly create content about social issues and favor the platform for a relative lack of content management and its opportunities for economic transactions. Activists were found to attempt to politicize the mainly apolitical live chats of gaming streams by posting messages related to recent poli­ tical events; however, other members of the stream community (either moderators or other viewers) often counter and shut down these politicization attempts (Ruiz-Bravo et al., 2022). As noted above, politics is often actively avoided by streamers and regarded as a breach of etiquette by gamingoriented long-term users. We therefore pose a first research question: RQ1: To what extent do individuals in the US, the UK, France, Canada, and Germany use Twitch for political information and political expression? Personality and political engagement on Twitch Theoretical framework and problematization In this study, we examine two political behaviors on Twitch, political information and political expression. Globally, citizens increasingly use digital platforms to access news (Newman et al., 2023). For the purposes of this study, we define 4 C. P. HOFFMANN ET AL. political information as information about cur­ rent events in the world, news about elections, information about political figures, information about government performance, debates about public policy, and other political issues. Different platforms offer different affordances that shape opportunities for political expression (Boulianne et al., 2024). Lane et al. (2022) define political expression as “behaviors that involve communica­ tion of one’s political views, beliefs, or identities to others” (p. 5). We follow this definition. There is an increasing body of evidence on the role of personality in online political engagement, although no previous study has examined the context of Twitch. We base this study on the Five Factor model of personality (Costa & McCrae, 1985; McCrae & Costa, 1985), or the “Big Five” (Goldberg, 1990), which is one of the most influential and robust conceptual frameworks in psychological research (Bainbridge et al., 2022). McCrae and Costa (1985) point out that personality traits vary across individuals in meaningful ways but are character­ ized by within-person stability. Applying a personality framework to political online beha­ vior allows for novel insights as personality traits constitute stable dispositions distinct from situa­ tional states (e.g., motivation, affect), attitudes or beliefs (Gerber et al., 2011). Personality reliably affects behavioral responses to stimuli encountered in the world. Relationships identified through a personality-based conceptual framework, thus, are likely to hold across, for example, online plat­ forms or political issues. The Big Five framework differentiates five person­ ality traits: extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. Extraversion is a tendency to seek interactions with others. It is associated with sociability and attention-seeking. Openness describes a willingness to make new experi­ ences and is associated with curiosity and imagina­ tion. Agreeableness is an affinity toward social harmony. It is associated with friendliness and coop­ erativeness. Conscientiousness is the ability to for con­ trol impulse control and pursue goal-directed behaviors. It is associated with diligence and selfdiscipline. Finally, neuroticism is characterized by low emotional stability. It is associated with anxiety and negative affect. Bromme et al. (2022) conducted a meta-analysis of the Big Five personality traits and political par­ ticipation. They find that openness and extraver­ sion increase political involvement. However, they did not consider online political involvement. Further, a meta-analysis on personality and social media use confirms that openness and extraversion are the strongest predictors from the Big Five (Liu & Campbell, 2017). We offer theoretical innovation by adapting these theoretical claims (grounded in robust empirical evidence) to understanding poli­ tics on Twitch. RQ2: How do the Big Five personality traits relate to using Twitch for political information and poli­ tical expression? Research model We propose hypotheses on all five traits and our two dependent variables based on the extant research on personality and online political engagement, and Twitch use. Extraversion Social interaction and a sense of community are important drivers of Twitch use (Schofield & Ledone, 2019; Sherrick et al., 2023; Sjöblom & Hamari, 2017). Extraversion has been found to posi­ tively relate to social media use (Correa et al., 2010; Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2017; Liu & Campbell, 2017). However, introversion may relate to problematic social media uses (such as escapism, “addiction,” or exposure to harmful content), in particular (Kircaburun et al., 2020; Kuss & Griffiths, 2011). In a meta-analysis, Liu and Campbell (2017) find that extraversion positively predicts social network­ ing site use as well as specific activities such as interacting with others, posting photos, and network size. Among all five personality traits, extraversion has most consistently been shown to correlate with political expression/engagement online (Bromme et al., 2022; Boulianne & Galipeau, 2024; Boulianne & Koc-Michalska, 2022; Russo & Amnå, 2016). We therefore propose: H1: Extraversion is positively related to (a) poli­ tical information and (b) political expression on Twitch. JOURNAL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & POLITICS Openness Twitch users tend to use the platform to find information and connect to others (Church, 2022; Gros et al., 2017). Openness is broadly associated with information seeking in social media, playing games, posting status updates, and posting photos (Liu & Campbell, 2017), and with fostering larger social networks (Mondak, 2010 vs. Liu & Campbell, 2017). Valli and Nai (2023) find no relationship between avoidance of dissonant political views and openness. Instead, openness has been shown to positively predict political engagement/expression (Bromme et al., 2022; Boulianne & Koc-Michalska, 2022). We propose: H2: Openness is positively related to (a) political information and (b) political expression on Twitch. Agreeableness Agreeableness tends to be negatively related to off­ line (Mondak, 2010) and online political engage­ ment (Russo & Amnå, 2016). Based on a metaanalysis, agreeableness negatively relates to playing games on social networking sites and positively relates to posting photos (Liu & Campbell, 2017). We propose that this may be especially the case on Twitch, as the platform norms of Twitch tend to discourage political expression (Ruiz-Bravo et al., 2022). Agreeable individuals tend to seek harmony over confrontation (A. S. Gerber et al., 2012). Accordingly, Valli and Nai (2023) find a correlation between agreeableness and avoidance of dissonant political views. We propose: H : Agreeableness is negatively related to (a) political information and (b) political expression on Twitch. Conscientiousness Conscientiousness negatively relates to playing games and seeking information on social network­ ing sites (Liu & Campbell, 2017). Boulianne and Koc-Michalska (2022) find that conscientiousness is negatively related to online political talk, and only positively related to like-minded discussion. Valli and Nai (2023) find that conscientiousness negatively relates to contestation, but not avoid­ ance. Conscientious individuals tend to adhere to rules and norms, which might make them prone to 5 intervene against online rule-breakers (Obermaier, 2024; Porten-Cheé et al., 2020). Again, given the prevalent norms on Twitch, especially among the dominant gaming community (Ruiz-Bravo et al., 2022), to avoid political content, we propose: H4: Conscientiousness is negatively related to (a) political information and (b) political expression on Twitch. Neuroticism Neuroticism is positively associated with social media use (Correa et al., 2010; Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2017), especially problematic uses (Kircaburun et al., 2020). De Wit et al. (2020) found that Twitch users increase their platform engagement when they feel unwell. The evidence on the relationship between neuroticism and online political expression is weak. Bromme et al. (2022) find a positive association with political engagement. Valli and Nai (2023) find that neuro­ ticism correlates with contestation of dissonant political views. Given that many communities on Twitch discourage political expression, it may be more likely to occur spontaneously and due to strong affect. We therefore propose: H5: Neuroticism is positively related to (a) poli­ tical information and (b) political expression on Twitch. Our research model (Figure 1) will control for socio-demographic variables (i.e., age, gender, edu­ cation), and three variables that have been shown to relate to online political engagement, political orientation, political interest, and digital skills. Methods This study uses survey data gathered in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Germany during January and February 2023 (n = 7,500, 1,500 per country). Kantar administered the survey to their online panel with quotas to ensure representation of the population in each country (sex, age, education). The project received ethics approval in accordance with Canada’s Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS)]. The funding source 6 C. P. HOFFMANN ET AL. (SD = 1.10) on a four-point scale. For more descrip­ tive findings, see Table 1 and the Results section. Independent variables We measured personality using the Big Five scale originating from the Ten-Item Personality Measure (TIPI) (Gosling et al., 2003). Respondents were asked to respond that the trait applies to them, using a seven-point scale ranging from strongly dis­ agree or strongly agree (1 to 7). The responses to the two personality survey questions were added together and then the sum divided by two. Figure 1. Research model. is the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The data and replication files are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.fig share.29484104.v1. The analysis focused on those who reported using Twitch during the past 12 months (n = 1,552). We asked about the frequency of using this platform, with responses of “never, rarely, from time to time, often.” The sample size for each country is: Canada (n = 299), the United States (n = 462), France (n = 308), Germany (n = 220), and the United Kingdom (n = 263). We do not have country-specific hypotheses; the theoretical frames should hold across these five Western democracies and the small sample sizes (especially in Germany) limit our ability to conduct country-specific analysis. Instead, we include country (dummy variables) as a statistical control in the models. Dependent variables We defined political content: “please think about current events in the world, news about elections, information about political figures, information about government performance, debates about pub­ lic policy, and other political issues.” We asked whether they had seen this type of content on Twitch and whether they posted this type of content. For both questions, the response options were: “never, rarely, from time to time, often” and the time frame was the past 12 months. Pooling across countries, the average for political information is 2.13 (SD = 1.02) and for political expression is 2.02 ● Extraversion: Extraverted, enthusiastic; Reserved, quiet (reversed coded) ● Agreeableness: Sympathetic, warm; Critical, quarrelsome (reverse coded), ● Conscientiousness: Dependable, selfdisciplined; Disorganized, careless (reversed coded) ● Neuroticism: Anxious, easily upset; Calm, emotionally stable (reversed coded) ● Openness: Open to new experiences; Conventional, uncreative (reversed coded) Since our analysis focuses on the subgroup of Twitch users, we report on the average values for this subset. The average score on extraversion is 3.85 (SD = 1.10), agreeableness is 4.60 (SD = 1.07), conscien­ tiousness is 4.67 (SD = 1.19), neuroticism is 3.67 (SD = 1.16), and openness is 4.57 (SD = 1.06). Controls For political interest, we asked “How interested would you say you are in politics?” following the World Values Survey. Four response options were provided, ranging from not at all to very interested. For the subset of Twitch users, the average political interest is 2.87 (SD = 0.91). Political ideology was based on a self-placement question based on a scale of left (0) to right (10). Respondents were offered an option to say “neither left nor right.” These respon­ dents were coded in the middle of the left-right scale. The average for the subset of Twitch users is 5.87 (SD = 2.56). We asked respondents to rate their under­ standing of a series of digital concepts: algorithm, memes, hashtags, and deepfakes (Cronbach’s alpha JOURNAL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & POLITICS 7 Table 1. Descriptive statistics by country for Twitch users (n = 1,552). Females1 Education (4 groups) Extraversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Neuroticism Openness USA UK FRA CA GER Total USA UK FRA CA GER Total USA UK FRA CA GER Total USA UK FRA CA GER Total USA UK FRA CA GER Total USA UK FRA CA GER Total USA UK FRA CA GER Total Mean 32.10% 45.04% 43.97% 44.37% 39.72% 40.09% 2.42 2.15 1.98 2.18 2.06 2.19 3.90 3.90 3.75 3.73 3.99 3.85 4.51 4.48 4.75 4.57 4.76 4.60 4.53 4.58 4.82 4.65 4.90 4.67 3.68 3.67 3.66 3.81 3.46 3.67 4.54 4.55 4.58 4.57 4.65 4.57 SD How interested would you say you are in politics? (1 to 4) 1.08 1.16 1.12 1.11 1.06 1.11 1.06 1.15 1.06 1.16 1.07 1.10 1.04 1.10 1.16 0.99 1.05 1.07 1.13 1.19 1.17 1.16 1.29 1.19 1.16 1.23 1.10 1.14 1.18 1.16 1.09 1.01 1.10 1.06 1.03 1.06 In the past 12 months, how often have seen political info on Twitch? (1 to 4) In the past 12 months, how often have you posted political content on Twitch? (1 to 4) Digital skills Age Political ideology (0 to 10) In the past 12 months, how often have you used Twitch? (1 to 4) Note: full sample = .804). Respondents selected responses from 1 (no understanding) to 5 (full understanding). The average for the subset of Twitch users is 3.58 (SD = 0.96). Gender was coded as females = 1 and males = 0. For the subset of Twitch users, 40.1% are female. Education was based on a series of categories: high school or less, some college, a bachelor’s degree, and more than a bachelor’s degree. The average for the subset of Twitch users is 2.19 (SD = 1.11). Age was calculated as year of birth minus year of data collec­ tion. The average age for Twitch users is 35.07 (SD = 11.95). Results To address RQ1, we present some initial descrip­ tive findings. Figure 2 reports the frequencies of use by country for the full sample (n = 7,500). In the USA UK FRA CA GER Total USA UK FRA CA GER Total USA UK FRA CA GER Total USA (alpha = .853) UK (alpha = .855) FRA (alpha = .833) CA (alpha = .863) GER (alpha = .790) Total (alpha = .804) USA UK FRA CA GER Total USA UK FRA CA GER Total USA UK FRA CA GER Total Mean 2.99 2.97 2.69 2.71 2.96 2.87 2.38 2.08 2.02 2.02 1.95 2.13 2.29 2.06 1.85 1.88 1.81 2.02 3.65 3.49 3.43 3.51 3.82 3.58 35.13 33.48 35.77 35.29 35.61 35.07 6.42 5.79 5.69 5.72 5.26 5.87 2.92 2.72 2.80 2.73 2.79 2.80 SD 0.89 0.83 0.93 0.97 0.86 0.91 1.02 0.99 0.99 1.01 1.03 1.02 1.13 1.09 1.04 1.08 1.08 1.10 0.89 0.95 0.96 1.03 0.99 0.96 10.16 10.96 13.88 12.67 12.56 11.95 2.51 2.56 2.52 2.76 2.23 2.56 0.74 0.75 0.79 0.76 0.71 0.76 overall sample, about a fifth of participants (20.7%) report using Twitch at least occasionally. Among all Twitch users, 35.7% report never seeing political information on Twitch and 47.4% report that they never post political content on Twitch (see Figures 3 and 4). Appendix Table A1 offers a correlation matrix to help examine patterns of association among the vari­ ables, particularly among the independent variables which may cause estimation problems due to multi­ collinearity. As observed in other studies, conscien­ tiousness is positively correlated with agreeableness (r = .434, p < .001) and negatively correlated with neuroticism (r = −.425, p < .001). Also, age is corre­ lated with digital skills (r = −.448, p < .001). Exposure to political information on Twitch strongly and posi­ tively correlates with posting political content on the platform (r = .692, p < .001). 8 C. P. HOFFMANN ET AL. 100% 90% 2.5% 4.3% 6.9% 7.0% 6.7% 5.5% 8.1% 8.9% 9.2% 3.2% 4.7% 13.7% 6.2% 8.1% 80% 70% 3.7% 7.3% 8.3% 9.9% Often 60% Time to time 50% 40% 30% 82.5% 79.5% 80.1% UK France Canada 85.3% Rarely 79.3% 69.2% Never 20% 10% 0% US Germany Total Figure 2. Frequency of using Twitch in the past 12 months (n = 7,500). To address RQ2, we turn to the regression model presented in Table 2. We find that extra­ version is positively related to exposure to politi­ cal information (H1a) and posting political content (H1b), as expected. Openness is nega­ tively related to exposure to political information (H2a) and posting political content (H2b), which is contrary to our expectations. The negative cor­ relation was also noted in the correlation matrix (Appendix Table A1). A separate analysis of the components of openness helps explains this unex­ pected finding. Reporting oneself to be unconven­ tional and creative is negatively related to exposure to and posting political content, whereas the expectation is that there would be a positive relationship. 100% 90% 15.2% 80% 70% As for H3, agreeableness is negatively related to exposure to political information (H3a) and post­ ing political content (H3b), as expected; however, the coefficient for political information does not reach the threshold for statistical significance (p = .073). As for H4, conscientiousness is negatively related to exposure to political information (H4a) and posting political content (H4b), as expected. Finally, neuroticism does not significantly relate to exposure to political information (H5a) and post­ ing political content (H5b). The model fit for posting political content is 55.9%, which can be explained by the large coef­ ficient for exposure to political information. The model fit for exposure to political information is 23.7%. Political interest significantly relates to 9.5% 8.1% 10.0% 9.1% 24.0% 25.0% 21.7% 22.7% 27.3% 28.1% 26.3% 33.1% 60% 31.2% 50% 40% 11.0% Often 21.8% 27.1% Rarely 26.4% Never 30% 20% 10% Time to time 35.4% 39.6% 40.1% France Canada 46.4% 35.7% 25.3% 0% US UK Figure 3. Political information on Twitch (n = 1,552). Germany Total JOURNAL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & POLITICS 9 100% 90% 17.7% 11.0% 80% 70% 10.9% 19.8% 20.7% 17.7% 29.0% 17.5% 14.4% 12.6% 24.0% 13.2% Often 15.9% 14.1% 50% 18.2% Time to time Rarely Never 30% 20% 10.7% 29.3% 60% 40% 9.4% 53.2% 54.2% 58.2% France Canada Germany 47.4% 45.6% 35.1% 10% 0% US UK Total Figure 4. Posting political content on Twitch (n = 1,552). Table 2. Exposure to and posting of political content on Twitch. (1) Exposure to political content Extraversion (H1) Openness (H2) Agreeableness (H3) Conscientiousness (H4) Neuroticism (H5) Political interest Political ideology Digital skills Age Female Education Canada UK France Germany Exposure to political content on Twitch R-squared Sample size b 0.074 −0.100 −0.047 −0.098 0.003 0.286 0.060 0.059 0.000015 −0.030 0.062 −0.180 −0.225 −0.136 −0.286 SE 0.022 0.026 0.026 0.026 0.024 0.028 0.010 0.027 0.002 0.049 0.022 0.068 0.070 0.068 0.076 Beta 0.079 −0.104 −0.049 −0.113 0.003 0.255 0.151 0.056 0.00018 −0.014 0.068 −0.069 −0.083 −0.053 −0.097 (1) Posting political content p 0.001 <0.001 0.073 <0.001 0.910 <0.001 <0.001 0.029 0.994 0.547 0.004 0.008 0.001 0.045 <0.001 23.7% 1,533 b 0.040 −0.056 −0.071 −0.097 −0.015 0.146 0.060 −0.060 −0.003 0.011 0.017 −0.096 −0.017 −0.083 −0.083 0.598 55.9% 1,533 SE 0.018 0.021 0.022 0.021 0.020 0.024 0.008 0.022 0.002 0.040 0.018 0.056 0.058 0.056 0.063 0.021 Beta 0.039 −0.054 −0.069 −0.104 −0.016 0.121 0.139 −0.052 −0.030 0.005 0.018 −0.034 −0.006 −0.030 −0.026 0.554 p 0.028 0.008 0.001 <0.001 0.441 <0.001 <0.001 0.007 0.105 0.785 0.333 0.087 0.772 0.137 0.184 <0.001 Male and US respondents are the reference groups for the above model. Ordinary least square regression. both dependent variables. Having a right-wing ideology positively relates to exposure and post­ ing of political content on Twitch. Digital skills positively relate to exposure to political content, but negatively relate to posting of political con­ tent. As noted, the analysis is based on the subset of Twitch users. For this subset, age, gender, education, and country do not predict the posting of political content. Education positively relates to exposure to political content. Compared to the US, all countries have lower frequencies of expo­ sure to political content on Twitch, but there are not significant differences in posting. As noted in the Methods section, the sample size is not sufficient within each country to con­ duct a meaningful side-by-side comparison of the five personality traits and each dependent vari­ able for each country (see Appendix Tables A2 and A3). Instead, we discuss results for the US sample only, because this sample includes more than 400 respondents (which is a critical thresh­ old for providing a reasonable margin of error and ensuring a normal distribution in the vari­ ables). As noted in Table 3, extraversion is posi­ tively related to exposure to political information (H1a) and posting political content (H1b), as 10 C. P. HOFFMANN ET AL. Table 3. Exposure to and posting of political content on Twitch for US respondents. Exposure to political content Extraversion (H1) Openness (H2) Agreeableness (H3) Conscientiousness (H4) Neuroticism (H5) Political interest Political ideology Digital skills Age Female Education Exposure to political content on Twitch R-squared Sample size b 0.086 −0.199 0.030 −0.020 0.036 0.229 0.054 0.183 0.006 −0.041 0.159 SE 0.040 0.046 0.051 0.050 0.044 0.053 0.018 0.053 0.005 0.095 0.044 Beta 0.088 −0.214 0.031 −0.022 0.040 0.201 0.133 0.159 0.058 −0.019 0.168 Posting political content p 0.033 <0.001 0.553 0.695 0.417 <0.001 0.003 0.001 0.195 0.668 <0.001 29.9% 457 b 0.086 −0.048 −0.099 −0.135 −0.038 0.174 0.054 −0.009 0.006 0.043 −0.039 0.577 54.5% 457 SE 0.036 0.041 0.045 0.045 0.039 0.048 0.016 0.048 0.004 0.084 0.040 0.042 Beta 0.080 −0.047 −0.091 −0.136 −0.039 0.139 0.121 −0.007 0.053 0.018 −0.037 0.525 p 0.017 0.247 0.029 0.003 0.338 <0.001 0.001 0.844 0.145 0.607 0.329 <0.001 Male respondents are the reference group for the above model. Ordinary least square regression. expected, among US Twitch users. In the US sample, openness is negatively related to expo­ sure to political information (H2a), but for the US sample, the coefficient for posting is not sta­ tistically significant (H2b). Agreeableness is nega­ tively related to posting political content (H3b), but the coefficient for political information does not reach the threshold for statistical significance (H3a) in the US sample. Conscientiousness is negatively related to exposure to political infor­ mation (H4a), but for the US sample, the coeffi­ cient for posting is not statistically significant (H4b). Neuroticism does not significantly relate to exposure to political information (H5a) and posting political content (H5b). As such, the USspecific findings mostly replicate the findings for the pooled sample of Twitch users. Discussion Twitch is a widely use platform among young adults (S. L. Anderson, 2017; Boulianne & Lee, 2022). It has grown rapidly over recent years, particularly during the pandemic (Navarro & Tapiador, 2023). While deeply rooted in and primarily used for gaming (Golf-Papez & Veer, 2022; Ruiz-Bravo et al., 2022), the platform is increasingly used for politics, too. This is partly driven by a push by the parent company Amazon to diversify content (Artwick, 2019), and partly by the sheer popularity of the plat­ form. Some political actors, activists, journalists and political influencers already use the platform (Foxman et al., 2024; Harris et al., 2023; Munoz, 2021; Roca-Trenchs et al., 2023). In Germany, the leading broadcast news show announced in October of 2024 that it would stream content on Twitch (Tagesschau, 2024). The increasing poli­ tical uses of Twitch create tension among users. Traditionally, gaming streamers and viewers avoid political content (Diwanji et al., 2020; Gamir-Ríos et al., 2024; Leith, 2021; Ruiz-Bravo et al., 2022). Streamers occasionally instruct their “mods” to remove political content, to avoid violating community guidelines and alienating their communities. Many in the gaming commu­ nity consider politics on Twitch a breach of norms. Based on a survey in the US, the UK, France, Canada and Germany, we find that, overall, Twitch use is most common in the US (31%), and least common in Germany (15%), with about 20% usage in the other three countries. Of those using Twitch, 64% reported seeing political content, and 53% reported posting political content. Accordingly, these political behaviors are quite common on the platform, despite its relatively apolitical image. More than 10% of users report seeing and posting political content “often.” Again, these behaviors are most common in the US (15.2% and 17.7%), but country differences are not significant in our regression model on posting. We examine the role of personality (Costa & McCrae, 1985; Goldberg, 1990; McCrae & Costa, 1985) in political uses of Twitch, because (a) personality is increasingly recognized as a relevant factor in online political behavior (Bromme et al., 2022; Boulianne & Koc- JOURNAL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & POLITICS Michalska, 2022; Valli & Nai, 2023), and (b) the role of personality may play a distinctive role on a platform on which politics is considered impro­ per by some. As hypothesized, we find that extra­ version positively relates to both political information and political posting on Twitch. This finding is in line with studies focusing on other platforms, especially social media (Bromme et al., 2022; Boulianne & Galipeau, 2024; Boulianne & Koc-Michalska, 2022; Russo & Amnå, 2016). As noted, Liu and Campbell’s (2017) meta-analysis shows that extraversion relates to interacting on social networking sites. Contrary to our expectations, openness nega­ tively relates to the dependent variables. Specifically, reporting oneself to be unconventional and creative exhibits this negative relationship. Users with these traits may tend to favor other Twitch topics, like gaming or arts. As expected, agreeableness and conscientiousness negatively relate to the two political uses of Twitch. Agreeableness tends to be negatively related to political engagement (Mondak, 2010; Russo & Amnå, 2016). In our data, neuroticism was not significantly related to political information or posting, consistent with Liu and Campbell’s (2017) finding of a null relationship between neu­ roticism and information-seeking on social net­ working sites. These insights are of particular importance to understanding politics on the Twitch platform. We find that those geared toward politics on Twitch tend to be more brash and impulsive. They tend to be more extraverted, they are also low on agree­ ableness and conscientiousness. This fits the profile of norm-breakers. Twitch is a platform that focuses on community-building (Taylor, 2019), but avid users have been shown to eschew politics. Users wishing to get along with other users may avoid politics on Twitch. Similarly, those geared toward diligence and discipline (conscientiousness) may prefer to adhere to common platform norms by focusing on topics other than politics. Interestingly, openness does not relate to political uses of Twitch. Openness is associated with information seeking and playing games on social media (Liu & Campbell, 2017). In studies of other platforms, openness positively predicts political engagement/expression (Bromme et al., 11 2022; Boulianne & Koc-Michalska, 2022), but that may not apply to a gaming-oriented plat­ form where politics is (or used to be) a relative fringe topic. In other words, those using Twitch for politics do not necessarily seek new insights or experiences but rather wish to confirm and express their views. This indicates that those infusing politics into the platform may primarily be interested in reaching, persuading or disrupt­ ing others. Previous studies have highlighted that streamers on Twitch struggle with deviant behavior such as trolling or hate speech among individual members of their communities (Ask et al., 2019; Golf-Papez & Veer, 2022; Poyane, 2019). In practice, our study implies that streamers wishing to avoid politics are well-advised to com­ municate their community standards clearly and to provide specific instructions to moderators on how to address political comments. Those posting poli­ tical comments in a chat may be prone to brash, confrontative, even uncivil behavior and may require swift sanctions. It is likely that muting or removing such commentators may be necessary to maintain a community experience devoid of dis­ ruptive political comments. Political comments may generally lean toward incivility, as those enga­ ging in political expression tend to be low on agree­ ableness and conscientiousness. Streamers offering political content on the platform are likely to attract like-minded viewers and may need to simi­ larly sanction disruptive commenters strictly, as the negative association of political uses with openness indicates that politically-minded users may not be interested in a good-faith exchange of views and arguments. Within the subsample of Twitch users, age, gender, education, and country do not predict posting of political content, but these variables likely matter in the adoption of this platform; among the user group, there may be little varia­ tion on these factors, producing null effects. Exposure to political information is more com­ mon among the more formally educated and in the US. Digital skills increase exposure to poli­ tical content but decrease the posting of political content. The latter unusual finding might indi­ cate, again, that avid users of the platform tend to avoid political engagement on Twitch. 12 C. P. HOFFMANN ET AL. Right-wing ideology and political interest are positively related to both seeing and posting poli­ tical content on the platform. These findings are an important contribution to the study of politics on Twitch. Recently, Boulianne et al. (2024) found that right-wing individuals are more likely to post content on a variety of social media platforms, such as Reddit or WhatsApp. Twitch appears to fit this pattern. This study is subject to several limitations. We present cross-sectional data, so our analyses are correlational. However, causality from online behavior to personality is unlikely given the psy­ chological literature on personality (Costa & McCrae, 1985; Goldberg, 1990; McCrae & Costa, 1985). We focus on the Big Five personality frame­ work; however, studies of online hostility and trol­ ling have highlighted the role of “dark” personality traits, specifically the Dark Triad (Buckels et al., 2014; Moor & Anderson, 2019). We cannot speak to the role of these traits, but future studies may find this endeavor fruitful given our results on the traits extraversion, conscientiousness and agree­ ableness. We do not differentiate the type of poli­ tical content users see or post on the platform. The explained variance of our model of political infor­ mation is substantive, but limited, so future studies should explore additional predictors. Finally, future studies could delve deeper into deviant poli­ tical behaviors, like hate speech or trolling, and examine the role of “dark” personality traits (cf., Buckels et al., 2014; Moor & Anderson, 2019). As noted, this study offers a number of con­ tributions. Twitch has primarily been studied in the context of gaming. Yet it is a widely used platform experiencing rapid growth, especially among young users. We descriptively analyze political uses of Twitch in five Western demo­ cratic countries. This adds to the body of knowl­ edge on Twitch uses and online political engagement, particularly among youth (Andersen et al., 2021; Boulianne & Theocharis, 2020; Eddy, 2022). Twitch is increasingly described as an alternative to broadcast media (de la Feunte Prieto et al., 2022) and that journal­ ists and influencers are increasingly active on the platform, including Germany’s tagesschau news program. As noted, live-streamed content can not only be embedded in news reporting (Artwick, 2019), but Twitch content tends to be shared widely on other social media platforms, such as YouTube (Ask et al., 2019; Taylor, 2019). Twitch should therefore be considered in cross-platform analyses of the information ecosystem, particu­ larly of young citizens. While more research is needed on the use of Twitch by political actors and activists, this study provides an important starting point by highlighting that politics does appear to be quite common on the platform. Disclosure statement No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). Funding This research is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [Grant No. 435-2019-04-94]. Notes on contributors Christian Pieter Hoffmann is professor of communication management and political communication at the Institute of Communication and Media Studies and the Institute of Political Science, University of Leipzig. His research is focused on online participation, trust, self-disclosure and privacy pro­ tection in social media. Thomas Feiler is a PhD student at the Institute of Communication and Media Studies and the Institute of Political Science, University of Leipzig. His research is focused on online and offline political participation. Shelley Boulianne is the R. Klein Chair in Communication Studies at Mount Royal University (Canada). She earned her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of WisconsinMadison. She has held professor positions in sociology and political science at MacEwan University (Canada), the Université Catholique de Lille (France), and the University of Southampton (UK). She has completed research fellow­ ships at the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society (Germany) and the Digital Democracy Center at the University of Southern Denmark. Her research examines the global dynamics of digital media use for citizen engagement in civic and political life. ORCID Christian Pieter Hoffmann http://orcid.org/0000-00025282-6950 Thomas Feiler http://orcid.org/0009-0003-4318-1278 Shelley Boulianne http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8951-1098 JOURNAL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & POLITICS Data availability statement Data and replication files will be made available on Figshare upon acceptance of the article so that any changes in the analysis during the review process can be reflected in the published documentation. Ethics approval The survey received human-subject ethics approval prior to data collection (File No. 102022), according to Canada’s TriCouncil Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS). 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Correlation matrix. 1 Twitch political information r p 2 Twitch political posting r p 3 Extraversion r p 4 Openness r p 5 Agreeableness r p 6 r Conscientiousness p 7 Neuroticism r p 8 Political interest r p 9 Political ideology r p 10 Digital skills r p 11 Age r p 12 Females r p 13 Education r p 1 1 2 0.692 < 0.001 0.143 < 0.001 −0.223 < 0.001 −0.210 < 0.001 −0.227 < 0.001 0.055 0.031 0.347 < 0.001 0.287 < 0.001 0.112 < 0.001 −0.010 0.693 −0.112 < 0.001 0.187 < 0.001 1 3 0.161 < 0.001 −0.297 < 0.001 −0.298 < 0.001 −0.322 < 0.001 0.088 0.001 0.350 < 0.001 0.368 < 0.001 0.039 0.121 −0.041 0.105 −0.106 < 0.001 0.174 < 0.001 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 0.263 < 0.001 −0.034 0.003 0.002 0.880 −0.130 < 0.001 0.135 < 0.001 0.041 < 0.001 0.086 < 0.001 −0.021 0.073 < 0.001 0.969 0.064 < 0.001 1 0.268 < 0.001 0.293 < 0.001 −0.226 < 0.001 0.088 < 0.001 −0.161 < 0.001 0.206 < 0.001 −0.001 0.919 0.048 < 0.001 0.077 < 0.001 1 0.434 < 0.001 −0.313 < 0.001 −0.039 0.001 −0.103 < 0.001 −0.067 < 0.001 0.187 < 0.001 0.149 < 0.001 −0.043 < 0.001 1 −0.425 < 0.001 0.070 < 0.001 −0.038 0.001 −0.076 < 0.001 0.330 < 0.001 0.052 < 0.001 0.038 0.001 1 −0.144 < 0.001 −0.016 0.160 0.014 0.211 −0.293 < 0.001 0.159 < 0.001 −0.091 < 0.001 1 0.031 1 0.007 0.246 −0.058 1 < 0.001 < 0.001 0.162 −0.013 −0.448 1 < 0.001 0.253 < 0.001 −0.198 −0.085 −0.056 −0.138 1 < 0.001 < 0.001 < 0.001 < 0.001 0.230 0.008 0.209 −0.023 −0.084 < 0.001 0.466 < 0.001 0.049 < 0.001 Table A2. Personality and exposure to political information. USA Extraversion (H1) Openness (H2) Agreeableness (H3) Conscientiousness (H4) Neuroticism (H5) Political interest Political ideology Digital skills Age Female Education R-squared Sample size Beta 0.088 −0.214 0.031 −0.022 0.040 0.201 0.133 0.159 0.058 −0.019 0.168 29.9% 457 UK p 0.033 < 0.001 0.553 0.695 0.417 < 0.001 0.003 0.001 0.195 0.668 < 0.001 Beta 0.135 −0.062 −0.008 −0.188 −0.003 0.198 0.240 −0.098 −0.106 0.055 0.012 25.8% 262 France p 0.020 0.342 0.903 0.012 0.959 0.001 < 0.001 0.117 0.079 0.337 0.832 Beta 0.092 −0.044 −0.146 −0.120 −0.005 0.296 0.014 0.103 −0.091 −0.037 −0.038 20.7% 307 Canada p 0.091 0.481 0.024 0.088 0.940 < 0.001 0.793 0.082 0.130 0.483 0.480 Beta 0.017 −0.084 0.005 −0.084 0.002 0.299 0.178 0.089 0.038 −0.062 0.051 25.2% 293 Germany p 0.759 0.177 0.935 0.187 0.975 < 0.001 0.002 0.153 0.529 0.256 0.377 Beta 0.017 0.005 −0.170 −0.185 −0.035 0.287 0.209 −0.018 0.054 0.025 0.034 22.2% 214 p 0.793 0.949 0.028 0.043 0.657 < 0.001 0.001 0.801 0.433 0.702 0.604 Table A3. Personality and posting political information. USA Extraversion (H1) Openness (H2) Agreeableness (H3) Conscientiousness (H4) Neuroticism (H5) Political interest Political ideology Digital skills Age Female Education Exposure to political content on Twitch R-squared Sample size Beta 0.080 −0.047 −0.091 −0.136 −0.039 0.139 0.121 −0.007 0.053 0.018 −0.037 0.525 54.5% 457 p 0.017 0.247 0.029 0.003 0.338 < 0.001 0.001 0.844 0.145 0.607 0.329 < 0.001 UK Beta −0.032 −0.037 −0.014 −0.139 0.003 0.213 0.108 −0.105 −0.050 0.026 0.014 0.528 55.8% 262 France p 0.485 0.467 0.774 0.018 0.960 < 0.001 0.023 0.030 0.289 0.562 0.758 < 0.001 Beta 0.055 −0.052 −0.085 −0.038 −0.010 0.102 0.076 −0.111 −0.105 0.002 0.057 0.613 53.4% 307 p 0.186 0.278 0.091 0.483 0.832 0.023 0.063 0.015 0.023 0.952 0.175 < 0.001 Canada Beta 0.067 −0.051 −0.072 −0.077 0.005 0.079 0.217 0.004 −0.030 −0.022 0.029 0.566 62.4% 293 p 0.093 0.255 0.103 0.089 0.909 0.081 < 0.001 0.923 0.482 0.572 0.475 < 0.001 Germany Beta 0.006 −0.147 −0.081 −0.025 −0.061 0.050 0.186 −0.111 −0.026 −0.036 −0.051 0.545 55.4% 214 p 0.910 0.017 0.167 0.725 0.310 0.333 < 0.001 0.038 0.622 0.475 0.306 < 0.001