For those of my readers that have no idea what I am talking about, continue on reading. For those that already know, you can skip this paragraph. Anyway, Twitch is a popular website that hosts live-streamed video, owned by Amazon. Think of it like YouTube, but with live videos instead of pre-recorded ones. Viewers can follow streamers for free as well as subscribing for a monthly fee. Subbing to a channel unlocks better privileges and exclusive emotes for the chat. Ninja is currently the number one most followed and subscribed streamer on the platform by a wide margin. He had amassed a healthy community with his goofy, energetic personality and insane skills in the game he streams, Fortnite.
Since Ninja has become popular in the last year, he has had an increasing number of younger fans coming to meet him at conventions. Because of this, Ninja realized he has a duty to dial back the obscenities in some of his content. In an interview as part of the H3H3 podcast, he described it as such,
"My goal is to make it like your classic Spongebob Squarepants, where like, the parents at home can get a dirty joke or something like that, but the kids are completely oblivious... In my opinion, man, the cursing thing is like, of course little kids shouldn't be running around dropping F-bombs or swearing at all at that age. And simply just because, you don't understand the meaning behind it."
Some fans were not happy about this, saying he was selling out or simply making a money move. His manager/wife later commented on Twitter,
To everyone mad at @Ninja for not swearing much anymore-The majority of fans he has come up to him while we are out are 7-13 y/o boys and girls whose parents say "wish I could let them watch with sound" Tyler feels a moral obligation to tone it down for the younger ears.
-Jessica @JGhosty
I think this move is a very responsible move on his part. However, this is not all that Ninja has been doing recently. I think the main thing Ninja has been doing to improve the community is using his popularity to shine the spotlight on other creators. This is not only a humble move to help others grow, but one that he is doing to support good content. The people that he has helped to grow are a really good, diverse set of people.
Ninja has also displayed countless moments of compassion the likes of which I have not seen in internet stars such as himself. He has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for a variety of charities like the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and St Jude's. He is aware of the power a streamer can have in the shaping of the audiences he draws and looks to improve how the community as a whole behaves by setting good examples. I am hopeful for his future.
I am not making the case that Ninja is a saint - he has lost his temper a fair amount of times and is as fallible as the rest of us. He has even recently made friends with Keemstar and Faze Banks, both of whom have had considerable backgrounds involving shameful activities. All of that being said, his focus on morals and setting positive examples keep him at the forefront of Twitch, and I can't think of a better person to do it.
