Recently, popular streamer Tfue anno🃏unced he was taking a break from streaming. While many have speculated as to what drove this decision, it's clear that he didn't make♎ this choice lightly.
Burnout is a serious issue for streame꧂rs. This includes both brand new ones and ones already in the spotlight. What wa🍌s once a hobby becomes a daily regimen that includes social media, YouTube uploads and other tangential tasks, such as setting up emotes and brand assets. Streamer-celebrities like Tfue also have to worry about bigger issues like endorsement deals, media scrutiny, and sponsorship matters.
Streamer and YouTuber burnout is nothing new. Stars such as . But for some streamers, these bad habi🃏ts start early. Often, burnout stems from a mindset that reflects an emphasis on "the grind."
A High Demand for Content
It's understandable. , if not daily. . They'll often stream long hours to catch𒈔 both the early birds and the night owls, forgoing weekends and socia𒈔l lives in favor of streaming.
Back in December, . This is the equivalent of 95 40-hour workweeks. At the time he tweeted that number, there was still almost a full month left in𒆙 the year.
Aspiring streamers who want to be the next Ninja look to these numbers and feel obliged to do the same. Luminosity Gaming's Formula even advocated taking extreme measures to save money. He offered tips thꦰat included "sell your bed" and "only eat $1 ramen/chef boyardee." He later with this advice but admitted he did those exact t𝕴hings to build his career.
via: Twitter.com/Formula[/caption]
It's Unsustainable in the Long Term
The problem with these approaches to growth⭕ is that they're not sustainable. Such a demanding schedule may temporarily work in a streamer's favor. But for the majority of streamers, the heavy grind will wear on them to the point that they'll have to take extended breaks as they recover. Frequently, these breaks result in them losing the audiences they worked so h♏ard to build.
Or, the creator might continue to stream and post videos in spite♋ of the burnout. In this case, their content quality suffers, which deters potential ꦰviewers.
Many streamers have horror 𒐪stories of what they gave up to turn streaming into a full-time career.
"I destroyed every relationship I had with my family and friends for 'the dre🧸am,'" . "I'm currently working to fix all the damage from it."
In that article, Broman cites ManVsGame as one of his mentors. , eventually coming clean about the stimulant abuse driving𝐆 his str♕eaming career.
Unfortunately, these streamers are just a small samplinꦐg. Hundreds♔ or even thousands of others may be suffering off-stream.
What Can Streamers Do?
, a but now also frequently streams mindfulness and mental health discussions, went through her own burnout-related challenges. Sꦛhe used these to inspire changes in her life.
"When I first sta𝔍rted on Twitch they called me the 'iron strimmah' because I was on almost all the time," she told TheGamer. "It took over two years of streaming full time, over 16 hour days, seven days a week before I finally 🌌started giving myself one day off. The improvement to the quality of my content from just that single day was shocking."
Snaps is acutely aware of the demands of streaming as💛 well as the consequences. As such, she offers the reminder that to be the best at anything, people should first aspire to be the be🙈st versions of themselves.
In her own life, the decision to focus internally led to more energy and enthusi෴asm, which also helped strengthen her ability to connect with others.
She♛ advises streamers to continue living lives they enjoy while build𒀰ing careers.
"Content creators are only as interesting as the lives they live♔, in some respects," she said. "If you only stream and you start burning ou🥂t from doing that, you will run out of things to talk about and out of ways to connect with others."
As a way to remind people of basic ways to take care of themselves, she came up with 🎀the acronym S.H.A.D.E.: Sleep, Hydration, Air, Diet, and Exercise. Outside of the industry, people might be surprised to know how many content creators neglect any or all of these important aspects of🤪 a balanced life.
"It breaks my heart that the new 'cool job' is the one I currently have, and so many folks are offering up dangerous advice on how to get to a full-time content creator position," she said. "Kids are watching and learning from us, as are adults. We have to show them a betꦅter way."