A heartwarming video that shows one man donating money to a video game streamer with zero viewers has delighted the internet.
The video, which is a screen recording of the gamer’s live stream, was originally posted to TikTok on February 26 by HypeSzn, or @hypesznnn. On Monday, however, the clip was reposted in Reddit‘s “Made Me Smile” forum by u/usedchloroform. So far, the video has amassed more than 6 million views on TikTok and over 51,000 upvotes on Reddit.
Commenters across both platforms said they were moved by both HypeSzn’s gesture and the streamer’s reaction. Some also claimed that the video helped the streamer amass thousands of followers on Twitch—an interactive live streaming service.
At the beginning of his video, HypeSzn sends the streamer a $1 donation with a message attached that reads, “Hey man! Keep up the good work!”
Though the monetary value is small, the streamer, DJSpiderbutt, gets audibly excited by the random act of kindness.
“Hey, woah! Did I just…HypeSzn, thanks man!” DJSpiderbutt said. “I just got my first donation!”
Throughout the remainder of the video, DjSpiderbutt continues to vocalize his excitement and again thanks HypeSzn for his support.
“God, that’s awesome,” he said. “That just made my day…I’m super happy.”
In addition to HypeSzn’s donation, some Redditors claimed that DJSpiderbutt also received thousands of followers on Twitch as a result of the viral video.
“He used to only have below 100 followers and zero viewers on his stream, but this Tiktok video really went viral in the couple of days [after] it was posted. As of now, I believe he has gained over 6.5k followers,” wrote u/usedchloroform.
A quick search of “DJSpiderbutt” on the platform reveals that the streamer currently has over 7,000 followers.
“It’s small acts like this that really change people’s lives,” said DJSpiderbutt in a video response to HypeSzn.
“I was just about ready to sell my PC, just about ready to put all my streaming equipment up for sale, but because of HypeSzn, that no longer is the case,” he continued. “HypeSzn, you rock!”
According to NerdWallet, donations are one of the many different ways in which Twitch’s 4 million monthly broadcasters have turned their love of gaming into cash.
“Thanks to subscriptions, sponsorships and a share of ad revenue, among other things,” said NerdWallet, “some broadcasters earn seven figures per year.”
In fact, a recent hack of the platform that resulted in the leak of a creator payout report revealed that a broadcaster under the username xQc earned over $8 million between August 2019 and October 2021.
Of course, a person’s “potential to earn money” grows as their audience grows, said NerdWallet.
“Successful channels—like companies—are built up over years, not over days or weeks,” Jordan Slavik, an “avid gamer,” told the company. “The most important thing is to keep producing materials.”
As previously mentioned, commenters across Reddit and TikTok loved HypeSzn’s video.
“You brought literal tears to my eyes that’s so wholesome,” said TikToker Alysha Rosay.
“As a small streamer this makes me incredibly happy to see,” wrote Redditor u/nuggetdogg.
u/CapN-Judaism added: “What made me smile is that he didn’t care at all how much he was given, he seemed just happy to be appreciated for doing something he already loved doing.”
Newsweek reached out to HypeSzn for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
Other acts of kindness shared on Reddit include a daughter who gifted her dad a PS5 for Christmas this past year and one streamer was overwhelmed with emotion after waiting nearly an hour for his first subscribers in a Twitch post about mental health.
The post ‘Awesome’: Man Who Donated to Streamer With Zero Views Delights Internet appeared first on Newsweek.
