This is the first time that I have been simultaneously impressed and disappointed with a conference or a convention. TwitchCon 2018 did that, and did it hard.

Now, keep in mind that the attendees are able to attend. That means they were able to afford the ticket and whatever housing and travel that they weren’t able to acquire by other means. So, when I say that my preconceptions about most streamers were confirmed by the age range, behavior, and attitudes of the attendees, please understand that I’m speaking only of those with the means to attend.

The attendees were quite young, compared to me. There were exceptions to that rule, and I was pretty happy to see as many streaks and full heads of gray hair as I did. I wasn’t the only one there dealing with an arthritis flare-up. That said, the skew toward the younger brought with it a frenetic energy that I found myself needing regular breaks from.

On the other hand, no one in their right mind would scoff at or dismiss the amount of enthusiasm and passion that both streamers and community members brought to TwitchCon. We were all among our brethren, and whatever our reasons for doing it, the love of streaming was everywhere.

It’s not surprising to me that I was exhausted by the same thing that inspired me. I suppose that comes with age.