Digital Influence (1): Basement Troglodytes Are New Age Celebrities?
As digital content becomes ever popular and analogue media becomes a relic of the past, are we witnessing the ascension of the Internet celebrity archetype?
A single YouTube video from MrBeast garners a larger audience than the combined viewership of established news outlets. TikTokers are monetizing moments, instead of the long hours required to star in a Hollywood blockbuster, but continue to bank vast sums of money. With streamers like xQc matching earnings with sports titans such as LeBron James, we have to ask: are basement troglodytes coming to take over as the new age celebrities?
Welcome to Part 1 of a one-off series called Digital Influence. Usually, my newsletters are long and sprawling. This one’s a little different. Instead of a single article, this series will explore celebrities and media, new and old, across video, audio, literary and artistic media. Not to mention the King of Troglodytes himself: Elon Musk. This newsletter focuses exclusively on a comparison between sports superstars and e-sport gamers/streamers.
The last decade has witnessed an explosive growth in the e-sports and streaming industries. E-sports tournaments now fill massive arenas, with an audience rivalling traditional sports events. Not to mention the hordes of viewers who can simply tune in from a mobile or laptop device. According to a report by Newzoo, e-sports revenues surpassed $1 billion in 2020, with a global audience of nearly 500 million people. Streaming platforms like Twitch, meanwhile, have democratized content creation, allowing anyone with a camera and an internet connection to broadcast to the world. While this may appear to smoothen the road to stardom, the competition increases too. Twitch boasts over 8 million monthly broadcasters and 30 million daily visitors. By the same token, with more and more Internet viewers, the Super Bowl viewership has tanked over the years, as well as the attendance of the Olympics in several countries.
One character stands as something like a harbinger of what’s to come. Félix Lengyel, known as xQc, began his streaming journey on Twitch at 19 years old, initially playing League of Legends. His venture into e-sports started with minor Overwatch tournaments, eventually getting recruited by an e-sports company in 2016. In the early years of this e-sports career, Lengyel's devotion to the game bordered on obsession, as he would sometimes prioritize gaming over other essential life aspects like his health and nutrition. This is where I got the inspiration for the title “Basement Troglodyte”, not meant with any malice but instead, what I consider to be an apt description of the lifestyle of many of these rising celebrities. Just like Hollywood, the road to stardom is often not a glamorous one. Like many others with the kind of attention he has received, he has had many low points, facing multiple suspensions. In one notable instance, his remarks were criticized for being homophobic against a fellow player which led to his eventual release from the team. Derogatory gamer slang is symptomatic of a broader problem in Internet culture. Such language is concerning among right-wingers- figures like Nick Fuentes, a gamer and political streamers- who weaponize this slang to attack marginalized groups. Fuentes will be covered in a later article in this series, but for now, we will continue to discuss Lengyel’s streaming career and its implications for modern day media and stardom.
Since becoming a full-time streamer, xQc (Lengyel) has faced many Twitch bans. After a troll sent police to his house during one of his live-streams as a "prank," he moved back to Canada. Afterwards, his streaming career soared. By early 2023, he became a focal point of the industry, clinching a potentially $100 million deal with Kick. This is non-exclusive, meaning he can still earn revenue from other platforms. As he would say to his live audience, “This is crazy, Chat, just crazy.” This is one of the largest deals in entertainment history, drawing comparisons to high-profile sports contracts, such as LeBron James' $97 million, two-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. There are other recent deals with digital stars, such as Joe Rogan’s contract with Spotify, that are in this $100-200 million range.
Taking a glimpse into the past, a simpler time perhaps, consider LeBron James, an icon in the basketball world. The Cleveland Cavaliers, recognizing his potential, selected him as their first pick in the 2003 NBA draft. His illustrious career saw him play for the Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, and numerous NBA championships along the way. He's also a decorated two-time Olympic gold medalist, a philanthropist, and has made notable forays into acting and film production. His recent appearance in video games demonstrates that even traditional celebrities are making moves into the virtual era to stay relevant and make bank.
Both xQc and LeBron James have carved out a chunky portion from their respective arenas. Their careers, though different, match some of the same beats and turning points. While xQc has diversified into various games and content creation, LeBron has successfully ventured into acting, film production, and philanthropy. Both have no shortage of controversy and backlash accumulated over the years. All of this juxtaposition underscores the growing influence of e-sports personalities, potentially rivaling that of traditional sports stars in our digital era.
As the differentials in earnings, attention and influence between sports stars and e-sport stars close, the gaps between these two figures becomes apparent. The difference between these basement troglodytes and superstars such as LeBron James may largely observed in their respective sex appeal, as well as their connection to the natural world, which is where human beings emerged from. The digital age, in my opinion, has thrown several spanners in the works of the human brain. Looking at the dynamics at play between issues such as depression, mental health, aromance and suicide rates, there are strong links with the increasing chokehold of modern technology and social media. Of course, many have also found community and identity with the rise of globalized communication. And yet technology has a way of solving many problems on the one hand, while scaling the number of problems we already have on the other.
There are extremely concerning statistics, especially with young adults, in various parts of the world. Among young adult men in Japan, less than 40% have ever been on a date. Durkheim, a notable sociologist active in the late 19th century, introduced the term "anomie" to describe a state of normlessness, where individuals feel disconnected due to the rapidly changing conditions of modern society. Anomie can lead to feelings of purposelessness, depression, and increased suicide rates. Modern studies appear to echo these findings. For instance, a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S. found that urban areas, despite having more resources, often report higher rates of mental health issues, including loneliness and depression. Similar reports were found in Tokyo. Both countries, especially Japan, are examples of rapid urbanization and technological integration.
It is worth noting that despite what mainstream media suggests, suicide rates are globally a third of what they were in 1990. Many Western countries, such as the US and South Korea, have seen an uptick in suicide among young adults. Meanwhile, countries like Japan and indeed, South Korea, are dealing with declining birth rates and increasing life expectancy. As their populations age, an economic catastrophe awaits them from the wings. World events such as the Covid-19 pandemic cemented many mental health challenges too. Children and young people in general have had several blockers in their development. Zoomers and the generations after will suffer from this too. Already, literacy and mathematical abilities in countries like the US have been hurt by this. All of this ties into the contrast found between LeBron James and xQc. Both of them reflect the symbols of the values and beliefs of the people who, at a point in time and space, celebrated and supported their rise to stardom.
As it happens, traditional superstars, in this case a sports athlete, have accomplished a feat that is still potentially desirable from a genetic evolutionary standpoint. These traits include strong motor skills: accuracy, precision. The targeted, intense physical and mental discipline required to achieve that status cannot be understated. Then again, the fact of outperforming other people, is often a status symbol that could make them considered more desirable. Yet it is not clear that even the most successful of the Basement Troglodytes (cutely dictated as “chocolate oats” according to the speech-to-text app I used to write this), have the same level of desirability in terms of dating and mating considerations. Moving the goalpost slightly, the celebrities found in the Oscars, Emmys and other academy awards are usually hyper-charismatic, not pasty, crude hermits who will spend most of their daily lives staring into a simulated environment. This latter point might be weak though, as in another entry to this series, I compare traditional Hollywood celebrities to TikTokers, many of whom do embody high levels of charisma and social appeal. The role of media here, in how it shapes the views of the audience, is crucial to acknowledge. Suddenly, the appeal of jocks and rockstars may be diminishing, as social media embraces more geeky, metrosexual, and/or cleaner-faced stars.
None of this is to the undermine the abilities of these streamers and digital celebrities. After all, not everyone can earn 100 million dollars by sitting on their chair playing a video game. It is a case of them being, in some ways, the best of the best within their fields. Indeed, they even have physical advantages in some settings, such as increased reflex speeds and co-ordination. It’s possible that if we were to place a pre-teen xQc into a completely natural, raw, and chaotic environment, like a jungle, he might successfully adapt. Perhaps… but if we were to take him as he is now, his specialization into gaming and streaming would have already guaranteed a quick or else slow and agonizing death. This thought experiment doesn’t stop here. There may very well be a major social, economic or geographical catastrophe in the next decade (or at least century). What seems more likely, that someone like xQc would be able to adapt and thrive in such disrupted environment, or LeBron James? Unless the Metaverse arrives sometime soon, I would bet on LeBron James. The physical prowess of the athlete, his spatial, situational awareness, all of it, would still likely be more useful. At that point, it’s not clear how the Basement Troglodyte will have any worth, and I say that as one.
On the flip side, it is conceivable that the opposite could happen too. Some version of the Metaverse, the ubiquitous presence of the Internet, and the technocracy could come together to set the stage for performers like xQc to become “god-like”. All his unique abilities, from the fine-motor skills to control his computer, to his simple, emotive and influential communication, could culminate in a kind of superpower that could translate to real world environments too. For example, if these gamers were allowed to control drones for military operations, a field of research that has been making more and more headwind. These gamers might ascend to a legendary stature reminiscent of historical warriors. From the Roman Legionnaires who marched across continents in times of B.C., to the venerated British soldiers who fought in the World Wars, to the American veterans who were once widely celebrated in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Next week, this story will continue in Part 2: TikTokers vs Hollywood Celebrities. From there, this exciting series will continue to share insights between the new age celebrities and the old guard, covering everything from e-sports to podcasts, from the paradigm shift in adult work to the rise of political streamers and finally, onto an attack on the Trickster King of Basement Troglodytes himself: Elon Musk.
In the meantime, check out my previous newsletter on how social media influencers have reshaped marketing:
Or, if you are interested in technology and media more broadly, check out my newsletter on how AI is responsible for birthing an entirely new kind of media: