How I Became A VTuber

If you have followed me on social media at all for the past few months then you probably know that I had a biiiiggg announcement for my stream. I teased it everywhere I could think of and some people probably got sick of me hiding what I was doing! Now that it’s been a few weeks since the big reveal I think I’ve managed to make a smooth transition into becoming a VTuber or virtual streamer! I actually surprised myself with how easy it was to get used to my new setup since I’ve only been streaming for about two months I’m still learning about all the bumps and hiccups that come with streaming. 

Ever since I began streaming I’ve had viewers on stream and people on my Twitter asking if I planned to ever use a face cam. I’m an incredibly shy person and I don’t enjoy being the center of attention so for me streaming without one made me feel safe even though streaming was already super scary. However, at some point, with so many people asking for it I really began to wonder if I should not just give in and turn my webcam on…
Oddly enough even just the idea of having it on frightened me a lot, because to me personally, that should not be what streaming is about. A lot of people would disagree and say that the viewers join because they like your stream and want to actually see your reactions but I stream because I want to share great games with everyone. I want to be able to have fun while playing the game as well as have conversations about it with my viewers all while getting to know others and making friends.
It is very important to me that people who join can relax and have fun. I see so many streamers, especially female streamers, who receive a lot of unwanted attention because they are “pretty” however there are also some people who use their looks to their advantage. Everyone has different levels of comfort and how they approach streaming, but for me, I like to keep my face hidden on stream.
I’m adding so much onto my plate right now with both my writing and my streaming because I’m pushing to make this a success, but turning my webcam on felt like one huge step too far out of my comfort zone even with people telling me it would ‘improve’ my streams.

Now I’m not calling myself pretty or anything, but all I’m saying is that I don’t want the attention that comes with having a webcam on stream. I’ve actually posted a few pictures of myself on other platforms and I’ve noticed that it got a lot more interaction from people who have never been in my stream, and when I post a picture of myself I notice that I get a lot more viewers who join for 5 min and see that I don’t use a webcam and then leave. These are definitely not the kind of viewers I want in my stream. I’m looking to make long-lasting friendships and meet kind people, and I’m so lucky that seems to be how my community is growing!