Influence of Virtual Tipping and Collection Rate in Social Live Streaming Services

Social live streaming services (SLSS) and other consumer-generated media (CGM) offer gamification to attract people. Virtual gifts/tips such as Twitch’s “bits” are examples of this and construct interactive relationships between live streamers and viewers. However, their impact on user behavior and how the collection rates from the platforms to collect a portion of the tips affect user behavior and the platform’s gained rewards have not been sufficiently analyzed. This study focuses on the fact that CGM including SLSS, is a type of public goods game, and we propose a model that considers tipping systems with collection by platforms. Using our agent-based simulated environment, we demonstrate that the effect of tipping on user behavior depends considerably on the preference for psychological or monetary rewards and on network positions, such as the number of degrees. We also show that appropriate collection rates maximize the platform’s rewards. We believe that our results contribute to the design and operation of SLSS platforms.