Whenever we discuss the topic of how old do you have to be to be on Twitch, it is crucial to take into account the targeted demographic, content, and overall appeal the social platform has on the internet.
If you’re wondering how old do you have to be to stream on Twitch, or is there an age restriction on Twitch at all, then you’ve come to the right place. Usually, people under 13 aren’t allowed to stream on Twitch, but there is more to discuss.
As Twitch has a massive influence online, especially on the younger demographic, this question is not as easy to answer as most might think. We will cover all Twitch minimum age rules and potential aspects to take into consideration.
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How Old Do You Have To Be To Stream On Twitch?
To register for a Twitch account, you will have to be at least 13, and your parent or a legal guardian will have to agree with Twitch’s Terms of Service.
If you are 18 or older, you don’t need a guardian to agree tot he Terms of Service, but you can do it yourself.
If you are a parent of a child who is under 13 and they have an active Twitch account, you can send an email to privacy@twitch.tv and ask for their account to be terminated.
What Kind of Demographic Does Twitch Have a Tendency to Attract?
The trends on the internet change at a lightning-fast speed, and keeping up with them would be next to impossible on long-term analysis. At the same time, even short-term predictions are incredibly prone to failure.
Due to its status as a massive conglomerate of big-named gamers and streamers of all kinds, it plays a pivotal role in the digital age as both means of entertainment and youth-centered culture online. Just look at the demographic displayed on this pie chart below.
Upholding the reputation as the 31st most popular website on the entire internet with a record of 46 billion minutes watched on a monthly basis in 2018 makes it an unrivaled internet giant within the streaming industry.
You can see a lot of people of different age to stream on Twitch.
It is also interesting to note that about 71% of Twitch’s user base consists of millennials. The age-related restrictions are that much more important to follow as a large number of Twitch users barely meet the Twitch age requirement
Twitch Age Restriction
Despite being a favorite among the younger audience, Twitch minimum age regulations exist. The platform does monitor its streamers’ activities while also encouraging the community to assist it if it notices a possible infringement.
If a user happens to be under 13 years old – they cannot stream nor have an account on the platform. It is quite common nowadays for some streamers to lend their account to family and friends who sometimes might not fit the minimum requirements (imagine a father letting his child onto the stream). While this is rarely done with malicious intent, it is still a bannable offense, and it goes against the terms of service Twitch employs.
Suppose a user is at least 13 years old. In that case, they can use Twitch how they see fit as long as they have a parent or guardian watching over them, but let’s be honest here; it’s the golden age of the internet, and kids are often as tech-savvy as computer professionals these days, hence why this regulation is unofficially optional.
It is also worth mentioning that if an underage person has created an account before reaching the age of at least 13 (and been banned for breaking the rules), they cannot start over when they do reach the minimum required age (it’s better to play it safe in these cases).
Why Is Twitch so Strict
Heck no! There are confirmed cases of streamers smoking pot and drinking while streaming!
As special care is needed to minimize the exposure of the arguably very young user base (about 41% are between the ages of 16 to 24) to sensitive content, Twitch places moderators on the platform that can react within a moment’s notice. However, some issues are simply unavoidable in such a vast platform, and a few of them are consistent.
1. Adult Language
Lossing, a killstreak, getting unexpectedly killed, failing to perform a killer move, and more can be extremely frustrating for a streamer playing in front of an audience that can number in the hundreds.
Even if a youngster were to sit in the driver’s seat (start creating content and streams), the Twitch chat is quite often swarmed with slurs, foul language, and profanity, especially in heated moments. Even if we set aside the age requirement for Twitch, the content of the chat faze even veteran streamers who are in their late 20’s.
2. Substance Abuse
This is a tricky one as Twitch demands compliance with both local and international norms but does not explicitly place restrictions on streamers on whether or not they can use substances that might be legal in some countries and illegal in others.
Although discouraged, it is also not uncommon to see streamers smoke pot, use a hookah, and plenty of other devices and substances. While that might not seem like a big deal at first, take note that hundreds of teens can follow just one channel whose content creator indulges in these activities.
Add to that the fact that there are over 9 million channels on the platform, and you have yourself a situation where fans who look up to their favorite streamer can take up their habits over time.
3. The Possibility of Saying or Doing Something You Might Regret while Streaming
One of the biggest misconceptions of the digital age is that what we do online cannot affect our personal, physical world. In truth, there are countless cases of people getting canned from their jobs, losing personal relationships with their friends and family, as well as jeopardizing their future because of one measly comment on social media.
Teens are often impulsive, making it highly probable that they are going to react in an unwarranted and overdramatized fashion when provoked by the Twitch community or by their own mistakes during a game.
If they were to do or say something that could haunt them in the future and that act was captured by someone watching the stream, it could very well close many doors a child might want to open later on in their life, such as working in a specific industry or becoming a public figure.
You don’t need a wild imagination to understand the long-term consequences this can have, especially if the channel amasses quite a big following. This is a crucial reason why Twitch recommends starting out at their platform when their future users reach at least 18 years of age.
Teenager Twitch Age TOS
As long as they fulfill the minimum age for Twitch requirements, teens are free to start their streaming activities with supervision. While this does resolve the question of how old do you need to be to stream on Twitch, the Twitch age limit is not the only thing you have to worry about.
As there are no formals ways to implement parental controls on the accounts of users under the age of 18, it pays to remember a few critical aspects of Twitch use as a young streamer who is just starting to grasp the internet:
- Keep your personal information to yourself, regardless of the temptation to give it away
- Promote a civil and friendly discourse wherever possible
- Your account information is yours alone- never disclose it under any circumstances (and make it hard to guess)
- No matter how tempted you might get to respond to people negatively, it is always better to simply ignore or block abusive users from your stream
And, last but not least, kids who are starting out should disable private messages from unknown users from reaching them, at least until they get a good hang of the basic rules of conduct on the internet in 3 easy steps:
- Head over to account settings
- Select Security and privacy
- Select the option “block whispers from strangers”
Related: How Much Do Twitch Streamers Make – The Best Guide to Earning on Twitch in 2024
