Thousands of people are attending TwitchCon, which began on Friday, October 17, 2025, at the San Diego Convention Center, according to Times of San Diego.
The Amazon-owned digital platform hosts the annual event to bring together content creators, gamers, DJs, and fans from across the world to celebrate gaming and esports.
Twitch serves as a major hub where creators broadcast real-time video to viewers who watch, chat, and interact with livestreamers.
Although prominent creators of color have risen to recent prominence, data show that the majority of top-earning and smaller content creators, as well as the platform’s audience, remain white and male. Independent studies by Statista estimate that 63 percent of platform users are men, while another Statista survey found that 68 percent of U.S. video gamers surveyed identified as white.
People of color and women are building robust audiences and making gains in platform representation. Local creators include 23-year-old UC San Diego business graduate Verrell Joseph and 30-year-old Pakistani-American content creator CurlyWurdy.
Joseph views livestreaming as the future of entertainment for younger generations who reject traditional media. “TV and cable are kind of dying out. I feel like a lot of people who are my age and younger don’t really care for TV because it feels manufactured,” Joseph told Times of San Diego.
Deloitte survey data shows that 47 percent of Gen Z and one-third of millennials prefer livestreams and social video over traditional television and scripted streaming content.
Joseph leverages a 73,000-strong Instagram following to funnel viewers to his Twitch livestreams, which frequently feature the non-gaming “Just Chatting” category. He plays games like Roblox, hosts a music tournament called ‘Song Wars,’ and discusses anime such as Attack on Titan, Golden Time, and Naruto.
Despite growing visibility, creators of color and women face systemic challenges that impact their career growth and mental health. Black, Indigenous, and women streamers experience higher rates of targeted hate speech, cyberbullying, doxxing, and coordinated chat room raids.
“I deal with it all the time, but I’ve kind of gotten used to it – I don’t know if that’s good or bad,” Joseph told Times of San Diego. “It’s something that you kind of start to just understand that as a Black man, some people are going to act negatively.”
Harassment peaks after videos go viral or when creators collaborate with women. “When I do feature a woman in my videos, it can be met with misogyny from people online,” Joseph told Times of San Diego.
“It’s because you’re able to be anonymous and when there are no repercussions for your actions, people will say whatever.” Amnesty International found that women of color face a 34 percent higher rate of online abusive language compared to white women.
Livestreaming fills a void for young people seeking community in an isolated society. Joseph uses his platform to connect people globally who lack physical gathering spaces.
“I feel like nowadays, for people my age, their third space now is on the internet,” Joseph told Times of San Diego. “There’s a big subsection of people my age that don’t really connect with people in real life anymore. I basically use my platform, identity and humor to bring people together from all over the world who don’t have that space.”
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