What is Twitch? A Parents' Guide – Plugged In

If you’ve been scrolling through the myriad of different apps available for your or your kids’ phones, you will likely have seen one called Twitch. And no, it’s not an app that gives you sudden jerking or convulsive movements. (Though, that would be an interesting app to try and market.) This popular app and site are actually something kinda like YouTube, only with a predominantly streaming slant. And it has a central focus on video games. Let’s take a look at it. When the current iteration of Twitch was initially founded in 2011, it was very much focused on watching live streams of other people playing top-shelf games—from shooters to racing games to board games. I know, the idea that somebody would spend any length of time watching someone else play a video game might seem pretty odd to non-gamers. But some tune in to see if a certain game fits their personal tastes, while others just like to watch. Reports from usage statistics sites such as Business of Apps have declared that Twitch has some “140 million monthly active users,” and it receives content from “8 million unique streamers every month.” So, oowee, you could say it’s pretty popular.
Read More