Some people may think there are only streamers and chatters making up the livestreaming ecosystem on Twitch, but there is another category of viewers lurking on the platform while hardly being seen, and they happen to have a lot of meaning for Twitch and its streamers. They are called lurkers, and the name explains itself rather well.
Twitch is the most popular livestreaming platform around, with countless content creators streaming live on the platform each and every day. The most important element for streamers and for the platform as a whole is the number of viewers that are attracted to watch the many streams available on Twitch. These viewers not only pump up viewership numbers for streamers, they bring engagement, potential donations, and even constructive criticism.
But there is a rather large segment of viewers that would rather not participate so directly in streams, and members of the Twitch community refers to this passive viewing process as “lurking,” the meaning of which we’ll dive into here.
Lurkers are viewers who watch Twitchstreams but don’t engage with anyone, especially not through the stream’s chat, so to lurk simply means watch a stream without engaging in it directly.
Lurking on Twitch is very common, with many of the platform’s viewer base rarely if ever interacting with other viewers or streamers. Twitch defines lurkers as viewers who may have the stream muted or may even be watching “a handful of streams” at the same time. The platform states it takes into account lurkers when searching for potential bots, as even viewers who don’t engage with streamers and their channels in a meaningful way should still count towards viewership totals.
A lurker doesn’t necessarily have to be invisible on the whole platform to be considered lurking. Some viewers lurk in certain streams while chatting actively or otherwise engaging around other broadcasts. Lurkers can also be silent during the start of a stream, lurking while they settle in, and then either engage through chat as the stream progresses.
Given its meaning, the word lurker may feel as though it carries a negative connotation to some people, but lurking on Twitch isn’t necessarily bad. Streamers’ view counts increase even if a viewer lurks and doesn’t engage in the stream or chat with other viewers. Some streamers and viewers prefer a more active chat experience, but every single person engaging in each and every stream just isn’t realistic. Lurkers still benefit streamers by increasing their numbers and helping them to rank up among other popular streamers, even if they don’t participate in any other way.
In a way, lurking on Twitch is just like watching a show on traditional television, or through a streaming platform like Netflix. Lurkers simply watch the broadcast without making a point in getting involved in it themselves. Some viewers on Twitch like to stay as involved as possible, digging into a stream’s chat room, joining the streamer’s discord channel, and using any other means available to take part in the stream’s community. But that approach isn’t for everyone.
Twitch has recently taken new actions against viewbotting, which is the practice of artificially inflating a stream’s viewer count through the presence of automated bots rather than real viewers. Some streamers have started to ask lurkers to engage more to prevent themselves from being considered bots. Other streamers have even requested that lurkers to use a “!lurk” command to signify that they’re present in a stream but lurking rather than engaging.
Despite these requests, users should know that there is no evidence to support the idea that lurkers could be counted as bots if they don’t engage in streams via chat or specific commands. You should be safe to lurk to your heart’s content.
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