Vaibhav Diwanji and Abigail Reed, doctoral candidates in the School of Communication, have been published in the Computers in Human Behavior Journal, a publication that addresses human interactions with technologies, especially in the new media environments. Their article, “Don’t just watch, join in: Exploring information behavior and copresence on Twitch,” provides theoretical insights into understanding human information on social live streaming sites.

Their interests were sparked by the ever-changing digital landscape of current social streaming sites. “Topic specific live streaming sites (TLSS’s) such as Twitch.tv are evolving constantly into important sources of information that complement the traditional information systems such as libraries and online search engine sites like Google,” said Diwanji and Reed. “On the other hand, sites like Twitch.tv can create a sense of digital copresence among its users (the feeling of being together in a digital environment).”

Diwanji and Reed are excited to be published and share their valuable insight into the way Twitch is changing users’ media behaviors. According to their abstract, “This study is an important first step to provide theoretical insights into understanding human information behavior on Twitch, topic specific live streaming sites, and social live streaming sites in general.”

A team effort, the publication reflects the work of faculty member Arienne Ferchaud, doctoral candidate Jonmichael Seibert, master’s student Victoria Weinbrecht, and doctoral candidate Nicholas Sellers.