Trainwrecks compares Twitch’s hot tub ‘meta’ to a Black Mirror episode

Alice Hearing

Tyler ‘TrainwrecksTV’ Niknam has finally weighed in with his opinion on Twitch’s hot tub ‘meta,’ comparing it to an episode of Black Mirror. 

Although hot tub streams have become the subject of debate in recent months, hot tub streams are not a new phenomenon on Twitch, and have been used sporadically as a way to get around Twitch’s policy on suggestive attire.

Twitch does allow swimsuits to be worn if the context warrants it (such as being at the beach or swimming), and so the hot tub has become a kind of loophole to wear more ‘suggestive’ outfits.

This year it became a ‘meta’ on Twitch after an increasing number of streamers, mainly female streamers (though not only female streamers), doing frequent hot tub streams.

Xoaeriel hot tub stream
Twitch’s hot tub meta is the latest Just Chatting trend.

Meanwhile, many streamers who have joined in with the new phenomenon have actually seen incredible growth in the last several months including big names such as Indiefoxx, Faith, and even Amouranth.

Trainwrecks gives his opinion

Since it became a ‘meta’, major streamers have weighed in, including Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel who called it the “most pathetic” thing on the site. Fellow streamer Asmongold has also argued that by allowing the ‘meta’ to continue, Twitch is contributing to an “anti-women sentiment” on the platform – the majority of Twitch users and streamers are male (by some estimates over 65%).

Now, Trainwrecks has also weighed into the debate for the first time since it began in early 2021, although instead of employing any strong words for or against it, he merely compared it to the popular British dystopian TV series which presents a glimpse of the future based on extremes of already existing concepts in the modern world.

Trainwrecks tweeted, “this could just be the herbal tea talkin’, but Twitch’s hot tub streams feel like a Black Mirror episode that shows what came before those technologically advanced sex clubs that we see in futuristic movies where you can choose what you want from a menu in private rooms”

https://twitter.com/Trainwreckstv/status/1385540659847647234

Clearly, he’s not alone in thinking this, with around 2,000 likes on the tweet at the time of writing, but whether he sees this as a good or bad thing remains to be seen.

Despite its controversy, Twitch’s hot tub meta is continuing to grow and with summer fast approaching, it won’t be slowing down anytime soon.