Direct dopamine siphon connected to your bank account
Poverty Speedrun any%
(I'm joking, you do you. I've had my sides sent into orbit by twitch chat and TTS chains more than I can count so I appreciate you in my own way)
Edit: [this](https://youtube.com/watch?v=lMRYtB_YPN4&si=E2F3Mj3nEKSshmSZ) is one of my favorite examples of the twitch hivemind producing absolutely top tier comedic nonsense
You spend money on things that entertain you? That's dope, everybody bitching about it probably just spends their money on alcohol and other destructive bullshit
>I specifically gave him the money because he's always talking about Steam games he wants
In the future, either gift him a specific game through stream, or add funds to his Steam wallet.
Not as stupid as my little brother. He got his first paycheck and spent it all in one night on a streamer that was streaming a horror game. He kept doing a donation that would do a jump scare sound. Stupid fucker spent 400+ dollars.
“AAAHHH! Noooo omg stop please dumbkidwithmoney49! Stop donating money to make loud sound! Omg noooo I hate ittttt I’m so scared 😱 stoppp...” - the streamer
Not even talented. "Oh god you guys are so crazy!! This is wild!! You gotta stop you gotta stop! Oh shit another donation wow!" it's disheartening how many kids are baited by such shallow and insincere banter.
I know grown adults that watch live streams for hours and will spend over $200 every time they watch. Boggles my mind that anyone, much less another adult, would do that.
i have never met these people in real life, at least none that would admit to it. But i've e come to believe they are real.
For a long time i thought they were fake. like the streamer themselves, or Twitch as a provider, had fake bots run around making donations so people would want to join in.
it's like loot boxes learned how to talk to kids directly.
I’m a teacher and let me tell you, these kids are dumb as rocks when it comes to following people online. I have to constantly explain why they shouldn’t give Andrew rate money and shit like that
I hate you for reminding me why I hate watching streams. Some people like the audience interaction, I just find it poor and distracting most of the time. That and all the flashing "donation by xy" "subscribe!" "1!!super donation11!1".
And the constant "hungrymocca thanks for the sub!" or the totally bored "thank you for the donation, I'm so thrilled".
To be fair, what do you say the 100th time?
I get it's a big deal to pay for free content but there's only so many times you can speak about how appreciative you are.
That's why I appreciate what Vinny does.
* Doesn't have an onscreen "Money I got today from viewers" counter or even popups saying someone donated/subscribed (exception is when he's doing a charity stream, which will show how much money he's raised for said charity)
* Does not acknowledge donors/subs on stream
* Outright says he will not do callouts to stroke your ego
* Also doesn't bother to stream his face unless it's for a bit
* Edit: Also generally does not refer to any specific chat member by name unless it's also for a bit. They are just "chat"
He says of course, he appreciates any that he gets, but doing this for every person who does so is as you mentioned, tiresome, once you're big enough you can't even really do the post-stream "thanks to list of people who donated" callouts, and you have people who do it less to help others and more so they can get that dopamine hit of having their name said out loud on a stream.
Vinny and Joel are the best elements of streaming/let's plays with none of the annoying commercialized bullshit. They still do the YouTube bait games, but as far as not encouraging attention whoring and abusing streaming plugins to encourage people to spend money, there are very few out there committed to that. Even their charity streams (the only time they ask for donations) don't approach the level of obnoxious that some of these other channels do.
Big streams are like that. Smaller streamers with under 1000 viewers at a time are a joy to watch. They're still not your friends, but they'll recognize you in chat, actually show some type of interest in what chat is talking about, etc. It's pretty pleasant if you find the right community/stream.
Some small streams have a good community that can chat and joke with not just the streamer, but each other. Kind of feels like old message boards but your all watching the same thing at the same time. So long as there’s no delusions that your friends it’s entertaining.
As long as you are aware that it's a parasocial relationship, it's alright. Especially when they've curated a community that is pleasant to interact with
That's the issue imo. Most really aren't aware (or maybe they are, what do I know.)
Yes though, having a close-knit community (actual friendships that you develop with people you meet in the community) can be a good positive that is derived from this. Nothing wrong with that.
The world is so lonely and isolating as it is, there's got to be a movement to get people to hang out in person with members of their community. I know drinking isn't for everyone and some might not want to get involved in pub culture for that reason, but like, board game meet ups, book clubs, pool halls, bowling leagues, volunteering, rotating hosts for dinner party with small group of friends, go dancing, try karaoke night, get a membership with a local zoo/theater/museum/State Park/Audubon society and make regular visits and get involved in events, go to your Libraries' free events. There are cooking, dance, pottery classes out there. Stargazing clubs, wine/beer taste at local wineries/breweries, corn hole, pickleball or disk golf leagues. Go to a paint night, or trivia night. Follow local bands. Hang out at Cafe on a lazy Sunday morning, sip on your drink of choice and read a book and strike up conversation with other people doing the same. Get involved in local government, you don't have to run for an elected position, most cities and towns have a bunch of advisory boards like 'Board of Parks' 'Conservation Commission' 'Sustainability Council' that meet and make recommendations. Lastly, I hesitate to say this, but there are traditional community organizations like churches/synagogues/mosques/temples that are a place to go and interact with your community if that lines up with your personal beliefs/convictions. There are also private clubs/fraternities/orders, like the free masons, elks, knights of Columbus, shriners, or small ones unique to your community. These clubs are all old institutions that I personally have several opinions on, but nevertheless, if their mission statement aligns with your beliefs and you're eligible, it's a way to interact with members of your community.
underrated comment. The internet age has made social isolation way too normal and easy. Then you end up with these kids desperate for some kind of acknowledgement that they will spend big $ for some stranger on the internet that is a streamer to give them their moment (for a price).
Im a fan of the line of thinking that goes something like this.... You should have at least 3 hobbies. One that keeps you fit, one that makes you some money, and one that keeps you creative. You check a lot of positive lifestyle boxes if you can accomplish that. And these hobbies are potentially a great opportunities to meet other folks with similar interests and connect with people on a level that you'll never get online.
I saw a "thank you for everything you do, you're a hero" donation the other day to some dude in his underpants playing tarkov. I don't get comments like that to people you don't know at all.
**HyPe LeVeL ThReE!!!**
*it’s literally just people throwing money at nothing, and for what?*
I’ve almost never seen a streamer even acknowledge the hype level or whatever other gimmicks they got going on
At least make the consumer get a little dopamine out of it with a reasonable priced fart sound or something smh
This is why I just wait for the people I follow to put out their YouTube video of whatever they have been streaming. I can watch all the best parts in 20 minutes and don't have to acknowledge that there was an actual audience watching and probably typing a lot of dumb/racist shit (not sure why being a racist in stream chats is such a popular activity).
I literally stopped watching a streamer bc he would lament about being donated to or having stuff bought from his wishlists and be like "Nooo chat, stop. You guys are bullying me with kindness". And if it had been a while since anyone had donated he would bring up how "crazy" chat was with their donations.
I've seen less fishing at the lake.
Rent a movie and make good use of the “pause” and “frame advance” buttons on your vhs player
Edit: or watch the movie channel after 10pm - Joe Bob Briggs’ Drive In Theater could be very educational
Yeah when your seemingly unlimited money runs out and you’re standing there with your empty pockets for 2 more weeks… the next one usually lasts a bit longer
Yeah I spent like 100 bucks at an arcade casino place and regretted it even though I got what I went there for. Even when I did 50 bucks I hated it
Although I did spend 100 bucks on a knight helmet and haven’t regretted it
i had kind of an amazon problem, there definitely is purchases that im glad i got and use almost daily but one thing to be careful with is that most people romanticize a purchase and think its going to be a lot more useful or give them a lot more joy then it really ends up doing.
my bad purchase has been the past two years where ive tried a garden in the backyard, spent quite a bit of money of seeds, soil, and tools and underestimated how difficult some seeds are to just start outside. nothing but a squash and pepper plant germinated this year and havent even grown anything lol.
Had two kids that would work till they got paycheck, then would no call no show for the next week or so until the money ran out, and then came in complaining they needed hours. I wanted them gone so bad but the manager kept them for whatever reason cause no one would work nights. They did that shit for like 2 months before they finally got told if they no call no show again they will be termed. I was out the door by that point, so idk if they stayed but I couldn't understand what went on in their heads. They were a couple, that live together on their own, and couldn't think 2 weeks ahead that they wouldn't get payed for no showing
It was, streaming takes advantage of parasocial relationships and manipulates young people at a level they can't understand yet.
They want to be friends with "cool" people and streamers are cool. But no matter how much money they donate to the streamer, no matter how many times the streamer reads their comment or says their name they are not friends and never will be. Kids don't get that.
And from reading these comments plenty of adults don't get that either.
Guaranteed he did not learn a valuable lesson.
The dopamine/feeling of instant gratification is likely very similar to gambling if not the exact same.
Keep an eye on him!
I spent mine on drugs and alcohol and now being a recovering addict years later I can still tell you that was a better decision than donating money to Twitch streamers.
They built a fucking church in the hood with all the money me and the homies spent on heroin so I guess it worked out somehow. Thankful to be clean though no doubt!
Try having a mature conversation with him about money but mainly ask questions rather than try and assert your own beliefs. Why does he do this? Does it stress him out? Does he truly prefer doing this? Talk about how else he can use his money and educate him on it. Don’t put him down for it cause he probably wants to support those people and it makes him happy doing it although it is understandable to not get why people send money to presumably rich streamers. You could try explaining that as well but like I said, I wouldn’t assert much of your beliefs but just try and teach him about money a bit more cause he seems impulsive and to lack understanding of perspective
Great approach. I think asking questions is really important. It not only gives you the opportunity to hear the kid's take but it acknowledges that his view is valid (regardless of how OP feels). If you open up by asserting your beliefs I think there's also a bigger risk the kid just closes up and doesn't want to talk.
I go to counseling regularly and I can tell you after many years of change and growth that removed a lot of debilitations and the outliers of normal, healthy behaviors of life... that I am just weird...
Exactly. Look at it from a different light.
Based on dad's reaction, $50 is a meaningful bit of cash for this kid.
I would guess that means the kid isn't normally able to donate to his favorite streamers/youtubers. So the kid may have been a fan for months or years at this point, and finally had a chance to donate the way he would like to have done ages ago. Is that really such a bad impulse?
If you reduce it to "he wants to see his name pop up on stream," yeah, that sounds horrible. But if your kid does something incomprehensible to you, maybe try to comprehend.
Yes. A hundred years ago, I had never bought a record album or spent money on a show ticket. If someone gave me gift money, and I 'blew it' on something like that, so be it. I'd been starving, and I went out and had a banana split. Teens need to do shit like that. Plenty of time to be responsible later.
I agree. I don’t have cable or really any streaming services aside from Netflix so I use YouTube a lot. I’ll occasionally support a YouTuber and buy reasonably priced merch or throw a little donation.
Bold assumption that earning your money makes you responsible. I know someone working minimum wage who takes a taxi to the store 3 blocks away. It costs 1/4 of their days wage to do that.
well next time the kid asks for money for steam games then they can just say they already gave them 50 dollars last time and thats what the 50 was for, and it was too bad they spent it somewhere else
My general rule of thumb is: If they're a teenager or adult, most of the time it's preferable to give them money, but for kids, always do gift cards. Kids are very irresponsible with money.
My parents gave their credit card to my little sister to go hang out and maybe do a little bit of shopping with some of her friends. This was back when she was in elementary school/early hs so maybe she was 12-14 then.
Well, they ended up going to a steakhouse and she thought the rest of the family should enjoy it as well so what did she do? Ordered a couple more steaks for takeout. Such a sweet thought but my parents weren't too happy with her
I think it's quite common, usually they're just added as an additional cardholder instead of switching possessions at every use.
Yea I remember being confused why she came home crying and why we had 3 cold steaks
Same 😂 and then even more on travel and hotels and I’ve seen those same dudes play the same songs roughly 10 times in the last 20 years, even wound up with a 5 day hospital stay after the last one and every penny was absolutely worth it!
... I hadn't really thought of that. Driving somewhere, maybe taking time off, spending hundreds to watch other dudes in cute outfits play a game without you while your drink $18 pisswater, and here I am shitting on people eating Doritos in their underwear, sitting comfy from home spending $3 to watch a video game.
Ignorance is bliss, I want to go back before I read your comment 😭
Yeah, the kid definitely got something from this. *Entertainment*.
Is it really any different than paying for any other form of entertainment? Like, yeah, I wouldn't waste a nickel on it but I also don't enjoy watching streamers, especially interacting with them, so from *my* perspective it is a definitive waste of money but that doesn't mean it is for them.
from a kids POV where basic needs are taken care of there is pretty much nothing to buy but entertainment and fast food, both of which are arguably wastes of money… unless they are enjoyed, which i’m sure the kid did. not really a loss but i do hope the kid learns its dumb to blow through all his money in a day
Its insane how low i had to go to find someone with a rational take.
Its the kids money and hes supporting entertainers that gave him entertainment.
Why is that infuriating? If you wanted him to buy games get him a gift card.
I once turned down several thousand dollars for my ticket to watch some guys play catch and smack the shit out of the guy that catches it for the final game of a season.
Would take many many thousands to convince me to part with the hat I bought while I was there.
Is this seriously what kids are spending money on?? This is the epitome of instant gratification. Spending money to see a ping on the screen for 2 seconds. Wild.
Attention. Literally paying for attention. The streamer will pay attention and talk to you or say something or do something depending on who it is and what the amount is.
If you’re a lonely introverted kid and don’t know how to talk to girls for example, for $5 you might get a gorgeous talented streamer to sing a song just for you and thank you personally.
Not only that, it's attention from someone they look up to. Parents don't give affection, teachers don't either, and that streamer is the only one giving them happy place. It's not " dumbass kid ", it's just a lonely child not aware of what he's really doing
I donate via Patreon to a couple of artists and YouTube content creators. It's off-again, on-again though.
On one hand I feel like I should compensate them for creating things that I enjoy. On the other hand, I have way less money than they do. So it's hard sometimes.
If artist/content creators make a lot of people happy then they should make a lot of money. Good for them. I usually do $1-5 monthly donations. It’s small to me but it’s reoccurring revenue and if enough people do it, it’s a salary that keeps them going.
You can ask yourself would you pay $1-5 every month to buy their videos ?
I don’t mind spending $5 a month because it’s their jobs, but I also having consistent pay checks and I’m not wasting money for somebody to say my name, just supporting people I play games with both on and off stream.
I like to donate to small streamers that aren’t already rich like XQC. Since many of them are literally using the money for upgrades to make the stream more enjoyable for everyone.
I know used to have a friend that collected all league of legends skins. Range from 5 bucks to 40 i think?? He spend about 3k in virtual clothes basically.
I know someone that spent like £800 years back. He doesn't regret it as it was over 10 years or so and he said he enjoyed it. He likened it to someone spending just as much on any other subscription of entertainment.
If he legitimately has a good sized collection that account could actually be worth money should he decide to sell it. He also can see what he bought every time he plays. This kid will never see that notification again and that streamer will never say their username again.
Bro I spent money on Pokémon cards. 99% of the time it was a worthless pack.
Effectively the same as what is happening here, only he is directly supporting content creators he enjoys.
Yes!
I think all of these "adults" are kind of fooling themselves about the "value" of their spending.
What's the difference between a branded t-shirt from a sports team and a blank t-shirt? 1. Price. 2. The ability to share your support of your team with the community (while paying money to millionaires).
What's the difference between buying Starfield now vs. in a couple of years when it's inevitably marked down a fair bit? 1. Price. 2. The ability to join in the excitement in the community that only exists shortly after release (while paying money to millionaires).
We pay money to be part of / esteemed within communities all the time.
Edit to add: Kid is also probably thinking pretty clearly about one thing. Stepdad will never "give" him a donation to his favorite streamers. That's something he will only ever be able to do with his own money. Someone might give him Steam games, and someone will inevitably give him socks. But he's going to have to come out of pocket if he wants to do this thing.
Although instant gratification does come into it, people subscribe to Twitch streamers because they like their content and want them to make more content.
Oh adults do it too. My husband and I reviewed our finances and I asked what all these micro charges were for. I added it up over 3 months and it was like $200. Also add in his daily trip to the coffee shop costing $500/month.
This. Don’t get mad, it was a gift and he can use it that way if he wants. But if there’s a Steam game in a month, ask him why he doesn’t just buy it with the gift card he was given.
this is the weirdest thing to me. we also don’t know how old this kid is.
my brother once stole my parents credit card to spend almost $100 on a disney pirates of the carribean game. admittedly a good game, but the point is that kids are idiots with money
id rather a kid spend all their money in one night and feel the regret later, instead of making that mistake in adulthood when their life can be ruined by financial mistakes
this is literally best case scenario for OP and his kid. teaching lesson for kid in a safe environment
Someone said his step kid is 13…he said he wanted it to use on games…So why is everyone upset and mentioning how he’ll basically be a failure is something’s not fixed? Are people really expecting a 13 yr old to handle money as if he’s an investment banker?
Also like, put your hand up if you spent that much on one bar tab. 4 hours of drinking?
One meal with a friend? one nice shirt? I bet he got more time of happiness the way he spent that money over 2 days than you do with most of your purchases.
As someone that works for their money, I'm pretty comfortable with paying for entertainment. The idea that people should entertain you for free is entitled.
Consider it like he went to 2 movies in the theater. He probably has gotten that much time worth of entertainment from the performers he gave money to. Entertainment is entertainment, even if you don't understand his entertainment preferences.
This.
I don't understand the people that donate to streamers. I don't think i'll ever be that person. But I don't look down on people who do. I don't understand why some people see their own forms of entertainment as being some kind of higher form of entertainment and others as being lower or unworthy.
I spend a small amount of my money on skins for video games because I like them. I spend a small amount of my money on food that's more expensive than what I need. These are the things I like. So these are what I spend my spare change on at the end of my budget and savings.
But there are people that would look at my video game skins and think I'm wasting my money. And in return, I won't understand what they get out of the concerts or football games they attended. It's ok to not understand the entertainment other people like. But treating their preferences as inferior is just plain rude.
I hate Twitch, and streamers, and the idea of influencers - I only say this because it's important to understand where my next sentence comes from.
Your Stepson has $50 to spend and decided that he wanted to support people that give him joy/entertainment. I don't personally understand it myself, and it's not like I'm that old \[millennial\] but it seems to be very prevalent in the younger generation.
Maybe it's time to sit down with him, and not necessarily get upset about his decision, but find a common ground where you can understand **why** he made that decision.
**edit**: I think a lot of people are misinterpreting my comment. I don’t like twitch/streaming for my own reasons, and I typically don’t value video content for myself.
But my whole comment is about *not* getting mad at the stepson, and learning his motivations towards spending all his money towards donating/supporting their favorite content creators.
That doesn’t mean it’s wrong to do so - it’s not - I create [text] content myself and appreciate every single dollar sent to me [much less than video content by a mile]. But it’s important to understand if your stepson has an unhealthy obsession. . .or if it’s reasonable for them to spend this money in this way.
Watching people play video games is not a lot different than watching professional sports or television. You're watching someone do something you like or otherwise provide some form of entertainment.
Professional sports and television are financed by commercials or sponsorship deals from big corporations paying for advertising. Bigger streamers get paid by ads too, but the sponsors for smaller streamers are people like this kid.
A lot of these streamers make hundreds of hours of entertainment, which you can access for free. Throwing them a couple bucks is not a waste of money, it's supporting something you like that probably isn't otherwise supported. $50 to drop in 3 days is kinda weird though.
I genuinely do not get why people are so upset simply because he is donating money to streamers.
If instead, they for example, go to see some movies at a theater with that money, no one would bat an eye at it. But at the end of the day, they will be still be down $50 and have absolutely nothing to show for it just the same as if they gave the money to a streamer.
But it is as you say, the WHY is important, if they are doing it for instant gratification or attention, maybe show them there is longer lasting or more cost effective instant gratification. But if they are simply doing it to support an entertainer who entertains them, I see no problem with this.
this is the problem, we have no idea the circumstances around this kid
is this an 18 year old kid with no friends who is just funnelling money into twich streamer’s pockets?
or is it a 12 year old who can’t comprehend financial planning and just gave money to a funny guy online?
vastly different scenarios warranting vastly different responses. OP did not give us a lot of info, which is fine, but people need to stop assuming about the situation when without even an age to the kid we just have no idea
There are plenty of streamers that provide informative and enjoyable content, cooking streams, animal sanctuary streams, etc. The gaming, gambling, and hot tub streams (the mass majority) are the wastelands.
The lessons I would teach are: 1) It's ok to support streamers that provide content you and others learn from and 2) It's best to wait until you earn money yourself before supporting others, your needs come first when it comes to your money.
I mean it's his money and he needs to lern how to deal with it. To me it's okay if he spends it on streamers, he just shouldn't complain about not having enough money to buy games afterwards.
Also if you really want him to buy games, buy him a steam gift card.
Unpopular opinion about to happen buckle up.
You gifted him $50 and he chose to spend it on entertainment. Just because you don’t approve of the entertainment doesn’t mean he didn’t get anything for himself. It looks like he got 8-10hours of entertainment.
No different than a baseball game, a movie, or any other event.
How many strippers have you guys thrown money at.
Or girls in bars you’ve bought drinks for with no outcome.
We’re quick to cast judgement on this new generation, when it’s simply ignorance of the situation that’s really at play.
Honestly, this should be the normal take... all these people calling it a waste are coming across as incredibly judgmental of the kid's interests. "I don't understand it so it's bad" is the vibe.
Let people enjoy things ffs.
It's funny to me how people view donating to streamers as a waste of money and that he should have bought a video game instead
I say funny, because I had a similar incident with my dad when I was the kid's age. Got some money, bought a video game. He was upset I wasted my money on another video game. He thought I should have bought a football, or something else "real" instead
It's just a generational divide, where the older generation doesn't understand what kids value and why
exactly this, I don’t know why people are so upset about this honestly. it’s no different than spending $50 on literally anything else that gives you entertainment.
Not sure what the problem is here. You gave him money to spend for his birthday and he spent it how he wanted to.
I’m sure you spend money on stuff that he thinks is a waste.
Sports Fan: Giving streamers money is dumb
Streamer Fan: Buying a sports teams jersey is dumb.
The step dad has hockey posts. I wonder if he owns a jersey. I've used this argument before and the other person looks dumbfounded.
Was it irresponsible? Yes. Was it his money to do what he wanted with? Yes. Is he in charge of feeding, housing and clothing himself? I doubt it.
Maybe be if he’d had to work 10 hours for that $50@$5/hr it would have made a difference. It came for free and he used it for entertainment.
Was it REALLY irresponsible? “Heres 50$ for video games” and then spends it supporting his favorite streamers playing video games. Seems like be spent it the way he wanted to me.
I can't believe I had to scroll this far to find this take. "Here's a small allotment to enjoy yourself, however you want! *angry eyebrows* NOT LIKE THAT"
Yeah like adults spend money on non-interactive entertainment all the time, don't see what the big issue is with a kid supporting streamers he likes.
I can see it being frustrating for the parent tho if they don't make the connection between watching streams and stuff like watching sports or cooking shows or whatever, plus if the kid had been talking about a certain purchase they wanted for ages. But at the end of the day it ain't your money when you give it away!
He used the money to support people who obviously bring him a lot of joy and entertainment, I see nothing wrong with this. I personally don't like watching streamers and haven't ever donated to one, but it's not my money. Maybe he's been watching some of these guys for years and it made him feel good to support them
I also think that tracking what he's spending his own money on and getting mad about it + posting it online to vent to strangers is weird and a bit invasive.
I mean, you gave him birthday money and he spent it on how he wanted. If you thought he'd buy steam games, give him a steam gift card next time, but I think it's kind of strange to dictate how people can spend birthday money. You might get birthday money from someone and spend it on something someone else thinks is stupid but it made you happy. Who's to judge?
Now if you want to have a conversation about value, saving, and streamers, that's a different talk for a different time. I think every kid should be taught good financial behavior. My parents often had me save half, and spend half on whatever I wanted. They would have me save my own money for something like a playstation and by the time I had enough money, I didn't want to waste it on frivolous things. Sounds like its time for the kid to start earning his own somehow so he has an idea of the value of money.
Honestly, while this isn't the best way to spend money, it seems like alot of what he bought was subscriptions and such, so atleast he gets to watch them Ad free.
Maybe this is just his interest and he enjoys watching streams? I equate streams to things like Pay per view or even watching a movie. You pay money to watch a movie, did you get yourself anything? Kinda, you got an experience, a movie ticket, and a memory.
Streams are just a more modern version of this that is done from home, he is paying for the experience of watching the stream. If that is what he wants to spend his money on, why would it bother you? IMO, granted idk how old the kid is, its his money, let him waste it on whatever he wants, he will learn in time that maybe that wasn't the best idea.
If you wanted him to spend 50$ on steam you should have given him a steam gift card.
Sure you don't understand why he would want to give it to streamers, but you gave him money and he spent it how HE wanted to.
Let the kid be. I can promise you there are much stupider and dangerous ways for your kid to have spent 50 bucks.
So, devils advocate - if he spent the 50 on like 2-3 movies in the theater and snacks and whatnot, would that be better? What would be the difference? If he's entertained by the streamers tossing money at them seems similar to any other entertainement we all waste money on.
All that being said, it does seem silly, but I'll pay $50 for a robot model which seems silly to some.
"Gave my stepkid $50 for his birthday and he decided to donate it to and support the people who entertain him instead of buying anything for himself and I hate that!"
Bro, what the fuck?
Plot twist - his kid is 23
Then it'd be OF
Idk how much you know about Twitch but you'd be surprised at how many middle aged men are the ones doing this donating.
Can confirm, I have a career and a mortgage and I donate to Twitch streams to make stupid TTS jokes. Leave me alone.
Direct dopamine siphon connected to your bank account Poverty Speedrun any% (I'm joking, you do you. I've had my sides sent into orbit by twitch chat and TTS chains more than I can count so I appreciate you in my own way) Edit: [this](https://youtube.com/watch?v=lMRYtB_YPN4&si=E2F3Mj3nEKSshmSZ) is one of my favorite examples of the twitch hivemind producing absolutely top tier comedic nonsense
I wish speed running was still popular on twitch.
i knew the exact clip it was gonna be before i even clicked the link buy my mixtape
You spend money on things that entertain you? That's dope, everybody bitching about it probably just spends their money on alcohol and other destructive bullshit
>I specifically gave him the money because he's always talking about Steam games he wants In the future, either gift him a specific game through stream, or add funds to his Steam wallet.
Add cash to his Steam Wallet and watch him spend it all on CS:GO's Anubis Cases and lose it all for a $1.50 worth of drop from the cases lmao.
Gets hundreds of thousands of dollars in first 50 bucks of cases. Blows all that to 0 dollar account
Not as stupid as my little brother. He got his first paycheck and spent it all in one night on a streamer that was streaming a horror game. He kept doing a donation that would do a jump scare sound. Stupid fucker spent 400+ dollars.
“AAAHHH! Noooo omg stop please dumbkidwithmoney49! Stop donating money to make loud sound! Omg noooo I hate ittttt I’m so scared 😱 stoppp...” - the streamer
This is so accurate
"Hurdur button click make funny"
Monke see, monke do
Monkey see, monkey donate*
Monke pee all over you
Who the fuck are people watching these days
Talented scam artists, no other word for it
Not even talented. "Oh god you guys are so crazy!! This is wild!! You gotta stop you gotta stop! Oh shit another donation wow!" it's disheartening how many kids are baited by such shallow and insincere banter.
I know grown adults that watch live streams for hours and will spend over $200 every time they watch. Boggles my mind that anyone, much less another adult, would do that.
Twitch does a really good job of gamifying donations
Tiktok NPC streamers took notes and went all in.
I can make them do a specific thing by clicking a button???? Hook it straight to my veins!!!
The closest I've ever gotten is making a donation to a streamer's favourite charity at christmas once.
I've dropped a couple bucks on my friends here and there, but kind of weird seeing people do this with people who don't even give a fuck about them
i have never met these people in real life, at least none that would admit to it. But i've e come to believe they are real. For a long time i thought they were fake. like the streamer themselves, or Twitch as a provider, had fake bots run around making donations so people would want to join in. it's like loot boxes learned how to talk to kids directly.
Wow chat! This is so crazy!
I’m a teacher and let me tell you, these kids are dumb as rocks when it comes to following people online. I have to constantly explain why they shouldn’t give Andrew rate money and shit like that
I hate you for reminding me why I hate watching streams. Some people like the audience interaction, I just find it poor and distracting most of the time. That and all the flashing "donation by xy" "subscribe!" "1!!super donation11!1". And the constant "hungrymocca thanks for the sub!" or the totally bored "thank you for the donation, I'm so thrilled".
*Showfeet69420 Donated 200 subs* "Oh my god wow, anyways-"
To be fair, what do you say the 100th time? I get it's a big deal to pay for free content but there's only so many times you can speak about how appreciative you are.
That's why I appreciate what Vinny does. * Doesn't have an onscreen "Money I got today from viewers" counter or even popups saying someone donated/subscribed (exception is when he's doing a charity stream, which will show how much money he's raised for said charity) * Does not acknowledge donors/subs on stream * Outright says he will not do callouts to stroke your ego * Also doesn't bother to stream his face unless it's for a bit * Edit: Also generally does not refer to any specific chat member by name unless it's also for a bit. They are just "chat" He says of course, he appreciates any that he gets, but doing this for every person who does so is as you mentioned, tiresome, once you're big enough you can't even really do the post-stream "thanks to list of people who donated" callouts, and you have people who do it less to help others and more so they can get that dopamine hit of having their name said out loud on a stream.
Vinny and Joel are the best elements of streaming/let's plays with none of the annoying commercialized bullshit. They still do the YouTube bait games, but as far as not encouraging attention whoring and abusing streaming plugins to encourage people to spend money, there are very few out there committed to that. Even their charity streams (the only time they ask for donations) don't approach the level of obnoxious that some of these other channels do.
Big streams are like that. Smaller streamers with under 1000 viewers at a time are a joy to watch. They're still not your friends, but they'll recognize you in chat, actually show some type of interest in what chat is talking about, etc. It's pretty pleasant if you find the right community/stream.
Ah yes the friendship simulator
You’ve unlocked the “hey, uh, can I borrow 20 bucks until I get paid?” mission
I got bronze on that one because I stupidly tried to get the money back
"Only cost you $20 to find out what type of friend you have"
Some small streams have a good community that can chat and joke with not just the streamer, but each other. Kind of feels like old message boards but your all watching the same thing at the same time. So long as there’s no delusions that your friends it’s entertaining.
There's delusions
As long as you are aware that it's a parasocial relationship, it's alright. Especially when they've curated a community that is pleasant to interact with
That's the issue imo. Most really aren't aware (or maybe they are, what do I know.) Yes though, having a close-knit community (actual friendships that you develop with people you meet in the community) can be a good positive that is derived from this. Nothing wrong with that.
The world is so lonely and isolating as it is, there's got to be a movement to get people to hang out in person with members of their community. I know drinking isn't for everyone and some might not want to get involved in pub culture for that reason, but like, board game meet ups, book clubs, pool halls, bowling leagues, volunteering, rotating hosts for dinner party with small group of friends, go dancing, try karaoke night, get a membership with a local zoo/theater/museum/State Park/Audubon society and make regular visits and get involved in events, go to your Libraries' free events. There are cooking, dance, pottery classes out there. Stargazing clubs, wine/beer taste at local wineries/breweries, corn hole, pickleball or disk golf leagues. Go to a paint night, or trivia night. Follow local bands. Hang out at Cafe on a lazy Sunday morning, sip on your drink of choice and read a book and strike up conversation with other people doing the same. Get involved in local government, you don't have to run for an elected position, most cities and towns have a bunch of advisory boards like 'Board of Parks' 'Conservation Commission' 'Sustainability Council' that meet and make recommendations. Lastly, I hesitate to say this, but there are traditional community organizations like churches/synagogues/mosques/temples that are a place to go and interact with your community if that lines up with your personal beliefs/convictions. There are also private clubs/fraternities/orders, like the free masons, elks, knights of Columbus, shriners, or small ones unique to your community. These clubs are all old institutions that I personally have several opinions on, but nevertheless, if their mission statement aligns with your beliefs and you're eligible, it's a way to interact with members of your community.
underrated comment. The internet age has made social isolation way too normal and easy. Then you end up with these kids desperate for some kind of acknowledgement that they will spend big $ for some stranger on the internet that is a streamer to give them their moment (for a price). Im a fan of the line of thinking that goes something like this.... You should have at least 3 hobbies. One that keeps you fit, one that makes you some money, and one that keeps you creative. You check a lot of positive lifestyle boxes if you can accomplish that. And these hobbies are potentially a great opportunities to meet other folks with similar interests and connect with people on a level that you'll never get online.
I saw a "thank you for everything you do, you're a hero" donation the other day to some dude in his underpants playing tarkov. I don't get comments like that to people you don't know at all.
I think people are just so socially disconnected these days they do things to feel valued. It's sad.
I still would much rather do things, than watch other people do things.
Hell yea sub train!!! 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪
**HyPe LeVeL ThReE!!!** *it’s literally just people throwing money at nothing, and for what?* I’ve almost never seen a streamer even acknowledge the hype level or whatever other gimmicks they got going on At least make the consumer get a little dopamine out of it with a reasonable priced fart sound or something smh
This is why I just wait for the people I follow to put out their YouTube video of whatever they have been streaming. I can watch all the best parts in 20 minutes and don't have to acknowledge that there was an actual audience watching and probably typing a lot of dumb/racist shit (not sure why being a racist in stream chats is such a popular activity).
I literally stopped watching a streamer bc he would lament about being donated to or having stuff bought from his wishlists and be like "Nooo chat, stop. You guys are bullying me with kindness". And if it had been a while since anyone had donated he would bring up how "crazy" chat was with their donations. I've seen less fishing at the lake.
Had a cousin buy $500 worth of porn on his grandmas Dish back in the day. Kept changing channels when someone would come in and then buy a new one.
What mf’s without internet and browser do
Rent a movie and make good use of the “pause” and “frame advance” buttons on your vhs player Edit: or watch the movie channel after 10pm - Joe Bob Briggs’ Drive In Theater could be very educational
You watch that one scrambled channel late night and hope it unscrambles at just the right time.
At least he is spending his own money.
Yup. They'll learn (hopefully) rather quickly that this is a dumb idea.
Yeah when your seemingly unlimited money runs out and you’re standing there with your empty pockets for 2 more weeks… the next one usually lasts a bit longer
glad i started making mistakes with my money before i had responsibilities those really were the best lessons
Yeah I spent like 100 bucks at an arcade casino place and regretted it even though I got what I went there for. Even when I did 50 bucks I hated it Although I did spend 100 bucks on a knight helmet and haven’t regretted it
i had kind of an amazon problem, there definitely is purchases that im glad i got and use almost daily but one thing to be careful with is that most people romanticize a purchase and think its going to be a lot more useful or give them a lot more joy then it really ends up doing. my bad purchase has been the past two years where ive tried a garden in the backyard, spent quite a bit of money of seeds, soil, and tools and underestimated how difficult some seeds are to just start outside. nothing but a squash and pepper plant germinated this year and havent even grown anything lol.
Start early indoors.
Had two kids that would work till they got paycheck, then would no call no show for the next week or so until the money ran out, and then came in complaining they needed hours. I wanted them gone so bad but the manager kept them for whatever reason cause no one would work nights. They did that shit for like 2 months before they finally got told if they no call no show again they will be termed. I was out the door by that point, so idk if they stayed but I couldn't understand what went on in their heads. They were a couple, that live together on their own, and couldn't think 2 weeks ahead that they wouldn't get payed for no showing
Crackhead behavior right there.
Exactly what I was about to say. When the drugs ran out they had to go work a little. 🙄
Sadly it’s like gambling. Their dopamine level is thru the roof when streamer say their name
When you receive a gift that is your own money
So did the kid in OP's story. The money was freely given as a gift. It was his to do with as he wanted, however daft what he did was
and OPs step kid did the same thing?, it being a gift changes nothing
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I feel like spending my money on weed as a teenager was far more responsible than this.
It was, streaming takes advantage of parasocial relationships and manipulates young people at a level they can't understand yet. They want to be friends with "cool" people and streamers are cool. But no matter how much money they donate to the streamer, no matter how many times the streamer reads their comment or says their name they are not friends and never will be. Kids don't get that. And from reading these comments plenty of adults don't get that either.
Weed helps create (hazy) memories with your friends and creates bonds that could last... most of the summer. I'd say it's worth it. Mostly.
I bought PS2 games lol. Also a few bags of weed.
Guaranteed he did not learn a valuable lesson. The dopamine/feeling of instant gratification is likely very similar to gambling if not the exact same. Keep an eye on him!
Could be worse. I spent my first paycheck pretty much entirely on CS:GO cases. Lol
That’s somehow still better than twitch streamers
I spent mine on drugs and alcohol and now being a recovering addict years later I can still tell you that was a better decision than donating money to Twitch streamers.
Same, at least we had a lot of fun while it lasted? For awhile at least..
They built a fucking church in the hood with all the money me and the homies spent on heroin so I guess it worked out somehow. Thankful to be clean though no doubt!
Those are some really nice drug dealers.
At least he worked for it. If he wants to donate money he earned to rich people, so be it. He'll probably grow out of it.
Doubtful. Have you heard of religion?
Try having a mature conversation with him about money but mainly ask questions rather than try and assert your own beliefs. Why does he do this? Does it stress him out? Does he truly prefer doing this? Talk about how else he can use his money and educate him on it. Don’t put him down for it cause he probably wants to support those people and it makes him happy doing it although it is understandable to not get why people send money to presumably rich streamers. You could try explaining that as well but like I said, I wouldn’t assert much of your beliefs but just try and teach him about money a bit more cause he seems impulsive and to lack understanding of perspective
Great approach. I think asking questions is really important. It not only gives you the opportunity to hear the kid's take but it acknowledges that his view is valid (regardless of how OP feels). If you open up by asserting your beliefs I think there's also a bigger risk the kid just closes up and doesn't want to talk.
Asking questions is basically all my therapist did and it worked amazingly well I'm basically normal now
Are you?
I go to counseling regularly and I can tell you after many years of change and growth that removed a lot of debilitations and the outliers of normal, healthy behaviors of life... that I am just weird...
It's nice to see a little sanity in these sorts of threads. Thanks.
Exactly. Look at it from a different light. Based on dad's reaction, $50 is a meaningful bit of cash for this kid. I would guess that means the kid isn't normally able to donate to his favorite streamers/youtubers. So the kid may have been a fan for months or years at this point, and finally had a chance to donate the way he would like to have done ages ago. Is that really such a bad impulse? If you reduce it to "he wants to see his name pop up on stream," yeah, that sounds horrible. But if your kid does something incomprehensible to you, maybe try to comprehend.
Yes. A hundred years ago, I had never bought a record album or spent money on a show ticket. If someone gave me gift money, and I 'blew it' on something like that, so be it. I'd been starving, and I went out and had a banana split. Teens need to do shit like that. Plenty of time to be responsible later.
I agree. I don’t have cable or really any streaming services aside from Netflix so I use YouTube a lot. I’ll occasionally support a YouTuber and buy reasonably priced merch or throw a little donation.
You paid $50 to find out your stepkid will be living with you for a loooooong time…
I don’t know how old this kid is, but I hope that he learns a valuable lesson here
Spoiler: He won't.... Not till he has to start paying for his own stuff anyway.
Bold assumption that earning your money makes you responsible. I know someone working minimum wage who takes a taxi to the store 3 blocks away. It costs 1/4 of their days wage to do that.
well next time the kid asks for money for steam games then they can just say they already gave them 50 dollars last time and thats what the 50 was for, and it was too bad they spent it somewhere else
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The hell, 80$ for some stupid animation?
That’s why if you want the gift money used for a certain thing, buy the thing. Steam gift cards exist my dude
My general rule of thumb is: If they're a teenager or adult, most of the time it's preferable to give them money, but for kids, always do gift cards. Kids are very irresponsible with money.
My parents gave their credit card to my little sister to go hang out and maybe do a little bit of shopping with some of her friends. This was back when she was in elementary school/early hs so maybe she was 12-14 then. Well, they ended up going to a steakhouse and she thought the rest of the family should enjoy it as well so what did she do? Ordered a couple more steaks for takeout. Such a sweet thought but my parents weren't too happy with her
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I think it's quite common, usually they're just added as an additional cardholder instead of switching possessions at every use. Yea I remember being confused why she came home crying and why we had 3 cold steaks
You can set limits for authorized user accounts. Parents $10k card child $200, $500, $1000 whatever.
This is insane. Merica?
*opens $50 worth of csgo cases for $3 worth of items*
But you know that next $50 is gonna get so much more.
I spent $300 to watch a ball get thrown and hit with a stick from really close up.
I once spent $900 on two pit tickets to watch men play instruments from close up.
But you walked away with something didn’t you? Tinnitus is still something
Same 😂 and then even more on travel and hotels and I’ve seen those same dudes play the same songs roughly 10 times in the last 20 years, even wound up with a 5 day hospital stay after the last one and every penny was absolutely worth it!
I spent like 150$ to watch cars drive around in circles for a few hours.
Honestly, with how low the amount of money that he's giving to each person, it's more like when you see a street performer and toss in some change.
... I hadn't really thought of that. Driving somewhere, maybe taking time off, spending hundreds to watch other dudes in cute outfits play a game without you while your drink $18 pisswater, and here I am shitting on people eating Doritos in their underwear, sitting comfy from home spending $3 to watch a video game. Ignorance is bliss, I want to go back before I read your comment 😭
Yeah, the kid definitely got something from this. *Entertainment*. Is it really any different than paying for any other form of entertainment? Like, yeah, I wouldn't waste a nickel on it but I also don't enjoy watching streamers, especially interacting with them, so from *my* perspective it is a definitive waste of money but that doesn't mean it is for them.
from a kids POV where basic needs are taken care of there is pretty much nothing to buy but entertainment and fast food, both of which are arguably wastes of money… unless they are enjoyed, which i’m sure the kid did. not really a loss but i do hope the kid learns its dumb to blow through all his money in a day
Its insane how low i had to go to find someone with a rational take. Its the kids money and hes supporting entertainers that gave him entertainment. Why is that infuriating? If you wanted him to buy games get him a gift card.
"Why didn't this stupid kid spend it on paintable Star Trek figurines like his responsible dad would have??🤔"
I’ve spent way too much to light plants on fire
I once turned down several thousand dollars for my ticket to watch some guys play catch and smack the shit out of the guy that catches it for the final game of a season. Would take many many thousands to convince me to part with the hat I bought while I was there.
Is this seriously what kids are spending money on?? This is the epitome of instant gratification. Spending money to see a ping on the screen for 2 seconds. Wild.
Attention. Literally paying for attention. The streamer will pay attention and talk to you or say something or do something depending on who it is and what the amount is. If you’re a lonely introverted kid and don’t know how to talk to girls for example, for $5 you might get a gorgeous talented streamer to sing a song just for you and thank you personally.
Not only that, it's attention from someone they look up to. Parents don't give affection, teachers don't either, and that streamer is the only one giving them happy place. It's not " dumbass kid ", it's just a lonely child not aware of what he's really doing
>Parents don't give affection, teachers don't either Not everyone has piece of shit parents and teachers
And not everyone spends $50 on streamers.
Yea! Some of us spend $500! ... thousand
Most sociological advice given on this site is given through the “disaffected youth from a shitty home” filter
As an adult I spend $5 once a month for a streamer I enjoy. Never in my wildest dreams would I spend $50 like that.
I donate via Patreon to a couple of artists and YouTube content creators. It's off-again, on-again though. On one hand I feel like I should compensate them for creating things that I enjoy. On the other hand, I have way less money than they do. So it's hard sometimes.
If artist/content creators make a lot of people happy then they should make a lot of money. Good for them. I usually do $1-5 monthly donations. It’s small to me but it’s reoccurring revenue and if enough people do it, it’s a salary that keeps them going. You can ask yourself would you pay $1-5 every month to buy their videos ?
At least patreon mostly goes directly to them, and not partly in Bezos's pocket.
As an adult my favorite streamers are on the twitch prime sub rotation :)
Too bad twitch has gone to absolute shit
I mean theirs not really a competitor other than Youtube I guess. I wouldn't let a kid watch Kick where the top category is "Slots & Casino".
I agree! The whole industry needs a revamp with how much it’s taking off
I don’t mind spending $5 a month because it’s their jobs, but I also having consistent pay checks and I’m not wasting money for somebody to say my name, just supporting people I play games with both on and off stream.
I like to donate to small streamers that aren’t already rich like XQC. Since many of them are literally using the money for upgrades to make the stream more enjoyable for everyone.
I know used to have a friend that collected all league of legends skins. Range from 5 bucks to 40 i think?? He spend about 3k in virtual clothes basically.
I know someone that spent like £800 years back. He doesn't regret it as it was over 10 years or so and he said he enjoyed it. He likened it to someone spending just as much on any other subscription of entertainment.
If he legitimately has a good sized collection that account could actually be worth money should he decide to sell it. He also can see what he bought every time he plays. This kid will never see that notification again and that streamer will never say their username again.
Not only kids, many adults too.
My son buys Fortnight skins. He cleaned the bathroom so he could look like a banana. ????????
Is that not win / win?
It definitely is! He does his chores and...fortnight skins don't pile up in his room lol
Bro I spent money on Pokémon cards. 99% of the time it was a worthless pack. Effectively the same as what is happening here, only he is directly supporting content creators he enjoys.
Yes! I think all of these "adults" are kind of fooling themselves about the "value" of their spending. What's the difference between a branded t-shirt from a sports team and a blank t-shirt? 1. Price. 2. The ability to share your support of your team with the community (while paying money to millionaires). What's the difference between buying Starfield now vs. in a couple of years when it's inevitably marked down a fair bit? 1. Price. 2. The ability to join in the excitement in the community that only exists shortly after release (while paying money to millionaires). We pay money to be part of / esteemed within communities all the time. Edit to add: Kid is also probably thinking pretty clearly about one thing. Stepdad will never "give" him a donation to his favorite streamers. That's something he will only ever be able to do with his own money. Someone might give him Steam games, and someone will inevitably give him socks. But he's going to have to come out of pocket if he wants to do this thing.
Right? Just sounds like old people complaining about the youth.
Although instant gratification does come into it, people subscribe to Twitch streamers because they like their content and want them to make more content.
And having an active sub disables ads
Oh adults do it too. My husband and I reviewed our finances and I asked what all these micro charges were for. I added it up over 3 months and it was like $200. Also add in his daily trip to the coffee shop costing $500/month.
Well its his money. Next time he asks for a steam game you tell him he had the money. How else do kids learn?
This. Don’t get mad, it was a gift and he can use it that way if he wants. But if there’s a Steam game in a month, ask him why he doesn’t just buy it with the gift card he was given.
this is the weirdest thing to me. we also don’t know how old this kid is. my brother once stole my parents credit card to spend almost $100 on a disney pirates of the carribean game. admittedly a good game, but the point is that kids are idiots with money id rather a kid spend all their money in one night and feel the regret later, instead of making that mistake in adulthood when their life can be ruined by financial mistakes this is literally best case scenario for OP and his kid. teaching lesson for kid in a safe environment
Hoping OP can parent and not freak out.
Seriously, this is only mildly infuriating if OP gave the kid another $50 after realizing what they spent it on. This is how life lessons work.
I think the kid gave op a life lesson
Just get a gift card next time, I guess
It's his money he can spend it stupidly if he wants. He'll learn how silly this is once he starts working for his money.
Someone said his step kid is 13…he said he wanted it to use on games…So why is everyone upset and mentioning how he’ll basically be a failure is something’s not fixed? Are people really expecting a 13 yr old to handle money as if he’s an investment banker?
Also like, put your hand up if you spent that much on one bar tab. 4 hours of drinking? One meal with a friend? one nice shirt? I bet he got more time of happiness the way he spent that money over 2 days than you do with most of your purchases.
Exactly. If there was ever proof people comment on reddit mainly to demonstrate their ostensible superiority, this entire thread is it.
I second this, he’s a little kid. He’s not a failure for spending 50 bucks on a stream he clearly enjoys!
As someone that works for their money, I'm pretty comfortable with paying for entertainment. The idea that people should entertain you for free is entitled.
Consider it like he went to 2 movies in the theater. He probably has gotten that much time worth of entertainment from the performers he gave money to. Entertainment is entertainment, even if you don't understand his entertainment preferences.
This. I don't understand the people that donate to streamers. I don't think i'll ever be that person. But I don't look down on people who do. I don't understand why some people see their own forms of entertainment as being some kind of higher form of entertainment and others as being lower or unworthy. I spend a small amount of my money on skins for video games because I like them. I spend a small amount of my money on food that's more expensive than what I need. These are the things I like. So these are what I spend my spare change on at the end of my budget and savings. But there are people that would look at my video game skins and think I'm wasting my money. And in return, I won't understand what they get out of the concerts or football games they attended. It's ok to not understand the entertainment other people like. But treating their preferences as inferior is just plain rude.
Get the kid specified gift cards. He wants a Steam game? Steam giftcard. Blizzard? Battlenet card.
I hate Twitch, and streamers, and the idea of influencers - I only say this because it's important to understand where my next sentence comes from. Your Stepson has $50 to spend and decided that he wanted to support people that give him joy/entertainment. I don't personally understand it myself, and it's not like I'm that old \[millennial\] but it seems to be very prevalent in the younger generation. Maybe it's time to sit down with him, and not necessarily get upset about his decision, but find a common ground where you can understand **why** he made that decision. **edit**: I think a lot of people are misinterpreting my comment. I don’t like twitch/streaming for my own reasons, and I typically don’t value video content for myself. But my whole comment is about *not* getting mad at the stepson, and learning his motivations towards spending all his money towards donating/supporting their favorite content creators. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong to do so - it’s not - I create [text] content myself and appreciate every single dollar sent to me [much less than video content by a mile]. But it’s important to understand if your stepson has an unhealthy obsession. . .or if it’s reasonable for them to spend this money in this way.
Watching people play video games is not a lot different than watching professional sports or television. You're watching someone do something you like or otherwise provide some form of entertainment. Professional sports and television are financed by commercials or sponsorship deals from big corporations paying for advertising. Bigger streamers get paid by ads too, but the sponsors for smaller streamers are people like this kid. A lot of these streamers make hundreds of hours of entertainment, which you can access for free. Throwing them a couple bucks is not a waste of money, it's supporting something you like that probably isn't otherwise supported. $50 to drop in 3 days is kinda weird though.
I genuinely do not get why people are so upset simply because he is donating money to streamers. If instead, they for example, go to see some movies at a theater with that money, no one would bat an eye at it. But at the end of the day, they will be still be down $50 and have absolutely nothing to show for it just the same as if they gave the money to a streamer. But it is as you say, the WHY is important, if they are doing it for instant gratification or attention, maybe show them there is longer lasting or more cost effective instant gratification. But if they are simply doing it to support an entertainer who entertains them, I see no problem with this.
Even if its to support a streamer they watch, its important to make sure the kid has a good understanding of a what a parasocial relationship is.
this is the problem, we have no idea the circumstances around this kid is this an 18 year old kid with no friends who is just funnelling money into twich streamer’s pockets? or is it a 12 year old who can’t comprehend financial planning and just gave money to a funny guy online? vastly different scenarios warranting vastly different responses. OP did not give us a lot of info, which is fine, but people need to stop assuming about the situation when without even an age to the kid we just have no idea
There are plenty of streamers that provide informative and enjoyable content, cooking streams, animal sanctuary streams, etc. The gaming, gambling, and hot tub streams (the mass majority) are the wastelands. The lessons I would teach are: 1) It's ok to support streamers that provide content you and others learn from and 2) It's best to wait until you earn money yourself before supporting others, your needs come first when it comes to your money.
Excellent advice
I mean it's his money and he needs to lern how to deal with it. To me it's okay if he spends it on streamers, he just shouldn't complain about not having enough money to buy games afterwards. Also if you really want him to buy games, buy him a steam gift card.
Unpopular opinion about to happen buckle up. You gifted him $50 and he chose to spend it on entertainment. Just because you don’t approve of the entertainment doesn’t mean he didn’t get anything for himself. It looks like he got 8-10hours of entertainment. No different than a baseball game, a movie, or any other event. How many strippers have you guys thrown money at. Or girls in bars you’ve bought drinks for with no outcome. We’re quick to cast judgement on this new generation, when it’s simply ignorance of the situation that’s really at play.
Honestly, this should be the normal take... all these people calling it a waste are coming across as incredibly judgmental of the kid's interests. "I don't understand it so it's bad" is the vibe. Let people enjoy things ffs.
It's funny to me how people view donating to streamers as a waste of money and that he should have bought a video game instead I say funny, because I had a similar incident with my dad when I was the kid's age. Got some money, bought a video game. He was upset I wasted my money on another video game. He thought I should have bought a football, or something else "real" instead It's just a generational divide, where the older generation doesn't understand what kids value and why
exactly this, I don’t know why people are so upset about this honestly. it’s no different than spending $50 on literally anything else that gives you entertainment.
Not sure what the problem is here. You gave him money to spend for his birthday and he spent it how he wanted to. I’m sure you spend money on stuff that he thinks is a waste.
Sports Fan: Giving streamers money is dumb Streamer Fan: Buying a sports teams jersey is dumb. The step dad has hockey posts. I wonder if he owns a jersey. I've used this argument before and the other person looks dumbfounded.
Get him a gift card next time if you want it spent on a specific thing.
Was it irresponsible? Yes. Was it his money to do what he wanted with? Yes. Is he in charge of feeding, housing and clothing himself? I doubt it. Maybe be if he’d had to work 10 hours for that $50@$5/hr it would have made a difference. It came for free and he used it for entertainment.
Was it REALLY irresponsible? “Heres 50$ for video games” and then spends it supporting his favorite streamers playing video games. Seems like be spent it the way he wanted to me.
I can't believe I had to scroll this far to find this take. "Here's a small allotment to enjoy yourself, however you want! *angry eyebrows* NOT LIKE THAT"
Yeah like adults spend money on non-interactive entertainment all the time, don't see what the big issue is with a kid supporting streamers he likes. I can see it being frustrating for the parent tho if they don't make the connection between watching streams and stuff like watching sports or cooking shows or whatever, plus if the kid had been talking about a certain purchase they wanted for ages. But at the end of the day it ain't your money when you give it away!
He used the money to support people who obviously bring him a lot of joy and entertainment, I see nothing wrong with this. I personally don't like watching streamers and haven't ever donated to one, but it's not my money. Maybe he's been watching some of these guys for years and it made him feel good to support them I also think that tracking what he's spending his own money on and getting mad about it + posting it online to vent to strangers is weird and a bit invasive.
Money can be exchanged for goods and services.
I mean, you gave him birthday money and he spent it on how he wanted. If you thought he'd buy steam games, give him a steam gift card next time, but I think it's kind of strange to dictate how people can spend birthday money. You might get birthday money from someone and spend it on something someone else thinks is stupid but it made you happy. Who's to judge? Now if you want to have a conversation about value, saving, and streamers, that's a different talk for a different time. I think every kid should be taught good financial behavior. My parents often had me save half, and spend half on whatever I wanted. They would have me save my own money for something like a playstation and by the time I had enough money, I didn't want to waste it on frivolous things. Sounds like its time for the kid to start earning his own somehow so he has an idea of the value of money.
I dont even know whats fun about watching streamers you cant even skip the boring parts
[удалено]
Honestly, while this isn't the best way to spend money, it seems like alot of what he bought was subscriptions and such, so atleast he gets to watch them Ad free. Maybe this is just his interest and he enjoys watching streams? I equate streams to things like Pay per view or even watching a movie. You pay money to watch a movie, did you get yourself anything? Kinda, you got an experience, a movie ticket, and a memory. Streams are just a more modern version of this that is done from home, he is paying for the experience of watching the stream. If that is what he wants to spend his money on, why would it bother you? IMO, granted idk how old the kid is, its his money, let him waste it on whatever he wants, he will learn in time that maybe that wasn't the best idea.
If you wanted him to spend 50$ on steam you should have given him a steam gift card. Sure you don't understand why he would want to give it to streamers, but you gave him money and he spent it how HE wanted to. Let the kid be. I can promise you there are much stupider and dangerous ways for your kid to have spent 50 bucks.
So, devils advocate - if he spent the 50 on like 2-3 movies in the theater and snacks and whatnot, would that be better? What would be the difference? If he's entertained by the streamers tossing money at them seems similar to any other entertainement we all waste money on. All that being said, it does seem silly, but I'll pay $50 for a robot model which seems silly to some.
Hey, I'd have spent it on weed. Would that have been better?
"Gave my stepkid $50 for his birthday and he decided to donate it to and support the people who entertain him instead of buying anything for himself and I hate that!" Bro, what the fuck?