Systemic issues with narratives of identity: Toxicity and esports media professionals

Abstract

This paper aims to highlight structural issues concerning the conduct of esports media professionals and their work as social media influencers. The data selected for this study include footage from social media and digital streaming platforms, with spatial analysis serving as a primary theoretical scaffolding to support the paper’s rationale. The systemic nature of self-perpetuating circulation of contentious media-related content is observed through the assessment of three case studies which feature various discourses of identity concerning players, media professionals and the audience alike. The paper discusses personal media branding strategies and the perceived role of esports media professionals in the esports communities, the proliferation of ‘reversed safe space’ serving as an element of strengthening the media presence and the discrepancies between the accepted codes of conduct in the various esports-related media.