Last week Twitch announced that it had automatically opted all of its user accounts into using all content for training Amazon's generative “AI” models. They didn't send their users an email or notify us within Twitch. They posted about it on X, a platform I don't use, acting like they were doing us a favor by allowing us to opt out. Furthermore, they made it opt-out knowing most of us are skeptical about “AI” and would never opt in – and they clearly don't care. This is a gross violation of privacy and betrayal of trust. Therefore, because they clearly do not respect their users, I am quitting Twitch both as a streamer and viewer.
One of the things I chose to abstain from for Lent was Twitch – both streaming and viewing other streams. But it has cut me off socially from good friends I enjoy interacting with there, and it occurred to me during a sleepless night last night that I'm feeling socially isolated.
If there's one thing I miss about Twitch whenever I take a break from it, it's the people – other streamers and viewers that I have gotten to know over the last couple years. I genuinely enjoy interacting with them and I miss those interactions.
My mental, emotional, and spiritual health have been pretty terrible since about mid-2025. But earlier in the year, when I decided to observe Lent for the first time leading up to Easter, it was the best I had felt in a long time. One of the things I gave up for Lent? Twitch. So I'm taking a break from it again to see what happens.
I never did fall back asleep last night. My soul was in too much turmoil. So I decided to watch a movie to distract me. I think there was a little divine intervention at work because the movie I picked was exactly what I needed.
I took down my blog because, for a brief time, I was trying live scambaiting on Twitch and I wanted to be extra careful about privacy. But I'm not doing that anymore and there are some things I have been wanting to write about. So the blog is back!
That's a line from the movie (based on the book by the same name), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I only recently watched it for the first time. As I wrestled with the decision of whether or not to quit Twitch, this line resonated with me when I heard it.
I no longer refer to people who watch my Twitch channel as a “community.” I call them viewers or friends, but I don't think it's accurate or helpful to refer to them as a community.
It's interesting the things you come across online when you wake up in the middle of the night. For some reason at 2:30am today, my half-conscious-but-apparently-not-tired-enough-to-sleep brain decided to search Startpage for “boycott Twitch” and discovered there is an actual Amazon boycott starting today. I took that as a sign. I'm joining the boycott. I won't be streaming on Twitch this week.