Streaming as a Virtual Being : The Complex Relationship Between VTubers and Identity

Abstract: The boundary between offline and online worlds is rapidly shrinking with improvements in technology. Virtual Youtubers (VTubers) have emerged in recent years as a new Twitch streaming phenomenon. Replacing the use of webcams, VTubers obscure their true physical appearance and instead choose to represent themselves through a fictional character. This character is most often controlled through facial tracking, motion capture, and additional software tools. While previous livestreaming research has focused on why people watch others play video games, or what an audience wants from the streamer they watch, there is very little current research available on VTubers. Current studies are scattered, and do not attempt to deeply engage with VTubers on a personal level to explore their thoughts and motivations. In turn, this study aims to answer the following questions: 1) “How does livestreaming as a VTuber allow people to explore and/or express their identity?”; 2) “What makes VTubing unique when compared to standard facecam streaming?”. 10 different VTubers were interviewed using semi-structured interviews, and their responses were analyzed by a framework centering Erving Goffman’s (1959) theory of self-presentation. Theories of online identity, imagined audience, online disinhibition, and parasocial interaction were also utilized to support the analysis. The results suggest that VTubing is a unique form of livestreaming which allows its users to overcome personal insecurities, explore different methods of self-presentation, and to affirm the identities of members of queer and ostracized communities.