Experiences of Autistic Twitch Livestreamers: "I have made easily the most meaningful and impactful relationships"

Terrance Mok, Anthony Tang, Adam McCrimmon, and Lora Oehlberg. (2023). Experiences of Autistic Twitch Livestreamers: "I have made easily the most meaningful and impactful relationships". In ASSETS 2023: Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility. Acceptance: 55/181 - 30%.

Abstract

We present perspectives from 10 autistic Twitch streamers regarding their experiences as livestreamers and how autism uniquely colors their experiences. Livestreaming offers a social online experience distinct from in-person, face-to-face communication, where autistic people tend to encounter challenges. Our reflexive thematic analysis of interviews with 10 participants showcases autistic livestreamers’ perspectives in their own words. Our findings center on the importance of having streamers establishing connections with others, sharing autistic identities, controlling a space for social interaction, personal growth, and accessibility challenges. In our discussion, we highlight the crucial value of having a medium for autistic representation, as well as design opportunities for streaming platforms to onboard autistic livestreamers and facilitate livestreamers’ communication with their audience.

Materials

PDF File (http://hcitang.org/papers/2023-assets2023-mok-autistic-livestreamers.pdf)
DOI (https://doi.org/10.1145/3597638.3608416)

BibTeX

@inproceedings{mok2023autisticlivestreamers,
  author = {Mok, Terrance and Tang, Anthony and McCrimmon, Adam and Oehlberg, Lora},
  title = {Experiences of Autistic Twitch Livestreamers: "I have made easily the most meaningful and impactful relationships"},
  booktitle = {ASSETS 2023: Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility},
  year = {2023},
  type = {conference},
  acceptance = {55/181 - 30%},
  pdfurl = {http://hcitang.org/papers/2023-assets2023-mok-autistic-livestreamers.pdf},
  doi = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3597638.3608416}
}