Twitch CEO: Social media has become ‘anti-social’ and can’t match the shared, human connection of live streaming

Twitch Chief Executive Dan Clancy said that in an attention economy, live-streaming formats like his platform foster a sense of human connection and authenticity that consumers can’t get from social media channels. The CEO of the Amazon-owned company spoke at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colorado on Monday alongside Grant La Fontaine, chief executive of popular streaming marketplace Whatnot. Both executives emphasized that real-time connection is core to their business success. They also highlighted that the digital neighborhoods each has made contrast with highly-addictive, quick-hit social media channels. “Social media has become anti-social. Sitting and swiping doesn’t make you feel connected to other people,” Twitch’s Clancy said. “If you think of real-world communities—churches, running clubs—it all comes from shared experiences in real time.” Twitch and Whatnot have both amassed audiences of millions who view content for hours on the platforms. Twitch has been estimated to have roughly 35 million daily active users. Whatnot has said it has several million active daily users. Whatnot has risen fast in recent years and challenged e-commerce giants like eBay. It had $8 billion in sales last year, with the company succeeding in collectible categories like trading cards and sports cards, but also in fast-growing verticals like women’s fashion and sneakers. It ranks as one of the top shopping apps in Apple’s App Store. More from Fortune’s 25th Brainstorm Tech: Anthropic’s Boris Cherny, creator of Claude Code, says there are days he manages tens of thousands of AI agents at once Your career needs a ‘gym membership’ to keep up with continuous AI advancements, says Campus founder Tade Oyerinde Answering a question about Twitch and Whatnot themselves becoming addictive platforms, Whatnot CEO LaFontaine said his company has aimed for long-term customer relationships over than short-term exploitation. He also said Whatnot allows its users to set l