Many people might “Twitch” at the thought of openly living on the internet, but it seems to be the new popular social trend.

On March 14th, American variety streamer Ludwig Ahgren started streaming on Twitch, a national live-streaming platform run by Amazon and didn’t hit the end stream button until a month later. He welcomed millions of followers and hundreds of thousands of viewers into his everyday personal life, from cooking breakfast to exercising with friends, to sleeping through the night. It was almost as if his viewers lived with him.

Since the World Wide Web launched to the public 28 years ago, living on the internet has changed existentially. With the newest wave of social media platforms that allow the general public to Livestream for however long they want, openly living on the internet has become more common and has created a great way to turn a hobby into a career. 

Social media first came into popularity with MySpace and Facebook in the early 2000s. People were able to post almost anything they wanted about their life through a written “status update.” Once Instagram, a social media platform used primarily for sharing photos and videos, was launched in 2010, content creation began to allow more career options for those interested in being in the public eye. Later, Twitch, founded in 2011, became one of the most used content creation platforms. 

According to TwitchTracker, a website used to track the overall statistics of Twitch, the platforms’ viewers and streamers have increasingly spiked within the past two years. The Twitch affiliate program allows content creators to make a profit off of views and revenue made from a creator’s stream. In order to become a Twitch affiliate, certain requirements must be met. A creator must have at least 500 total minutes broadcast within the last 30 days of application, an average of three concurrent viewers and 50 followers in order to gain revenue from the content you make. 

Ahgren held a “subathon,” an extended stream lasting several days primarily used to gain many subscriptions to a person’s channel, that lasted for a month. Never hitting the end button, he made over $1.6 million, where he was able to donate almost all the proceeds to charity, turning a fun pastime into a heartfelt act of kindness.

While streaming your daily life may have some interest from viewers, Twitch is a platform used for gaming, music, travel and more. However, Twitch isn’t the only popular platform that allows content creation as a career. YouTube, a national video-sharing platform, has been the biggest part of content creation as a career for the past 10 years. According to YouTube statistics, the number of channels that have earned over six figures a year has grown 50% and the number of channels that have gained over one million subscribers has increased over 65% and continues to grow each year. 

Many other popular social media platforms are a space for content creation to grow more rapidly. For Twitch and YouTube, live streaming and video content have been the peak of their success. However, almost any type of content that interests you can be turned into a well-paying career.