Blasting Off Again: An Observational Study on Substance Use Content Exposure in Pokémon Twitch Streams.

Area of Science:

• Social Science Research
• Media Studies
• Public Health

Background:

• The Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) is a popular franchise with a significant presence on the livestreaming platform Twitch.
• Concerns exist regarding potentially harmful content, including substance use, within TCG-related streams targeting youth and adolescents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of substance use topics and behaviors promoted by popular Twitch Pokémon TCG content and influencers.
• To assess compliance with platform guidelines regarding content moderation and age verification for young audiences.

Main Methods:

• Data mining of Twitch data aggregation websites (Sullygnome.com, TwitchTracker.com) for Pokémon TCG content.
• Keyword-based filtering and snowball sampling of stream titles for substance use indicators.
• Content coding using the WHO protocol to identify substance use marketing and behavioral themes.
• Assessment of underage moderation practices on analyzed Twitch livestreams.

Main Results:

• Substance use (alcohol, cannabis, tobacco) was detected in 25.07% of 1,025 analyzed Pokémon TCG streamers.
• Alcohol was the most frequent substance depicted (90.27%), followed by polysubstance use.
• Behavioral content related to casual use or intoxication was common.
• Over 72% of streamers' accounts lacked adequate underage access prohibition.

Conclusions:

• A significant portion of Pokémon TCG Twitch streamers violate community guidelines by depicting substance use.
• Inadequate enforcement of Twitch guidelines and lack of age verification expose millions of young viewers to potentially harmful content.
• This environment risks normalizing and promoting substance use behaviors among adolescent audiences.