Cloud Civilisations

Mastering the Digital: Working as a Virtual YouTuber (ft. Gabriella)

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This is the ‘Mastering the Digital’ series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research topics.

In this 8th episode, I speak with Gabriella DeMaio about her project on Virtual YouTubers (aka 'VTubers') who work on Twitch, and how labour transforms in digital spaces.

Gabriella is a digital anthropologist and cultural insights researcher with an interest in virtual worlds and the evolving role of avatars and AI in digital media. She also enjoys cooking shows and finding cute stickers for her sticker journal.

Some key takeaways:

  • Originating from Japan, many current VTubers draw from Japanese idol culture, such as the popularity of anime aesthetics and the nature of fan interactions.
  • VTubers require a lot of infrastructure to stream smoothly, which is often invisible to viewers; from custom PCs to the software designers use to rig a model/avatar, this adds up to make virtual streaming a relatively cost-prohibitive form of content creation.
  • Though streaming is happening virtually, the labour that goes into it is highly physical as well as emotional; this becomes challenging when fans develop a parasocial relationship with VTubers, underlining the importance of boundaries and moderators.


    • Connect with Gabriella via: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gdemaio/

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    Cloud CivilisationsBy Yung Lo