as if these adult men are somehow being forced to throw money at internet strangers. god.
It's a little more complex than this. The complaint about Twitch girls is more about how they appeal to the desperate and lonely niche so well. The "kissless virgin gamer" archetype that, while a stereotype, is pretty common in the community.
Those guys tend to have social problems, mental issues, anxiety, etc. that makes them easy targets of 'fake' affection from attractive girls. Put a girl on a webcam and have her play League of Legends, suddenly that lonely and depressed guy is thinking "Wow, she's into the stuff I'm into, and she seems so nice, maybe I have a chance with her."
Which leads to a donation. And then a thank you message with a little hand-heart gesture from the girl herself. Which makes the guy feel good, like he's finally being validated by this girl he has self-proclaimed himself to 'have a chance with.' This leads to more donations in a sea of others from the same type of guy, all competing with one another to be the king of contributors so they'll have the strongest possible chance of 'getting with' the streamer girl.
Is it healthy? No, of course not. Is it the girl's fault? Generally no, but if she gets accustomed to the treatment, she may start manipulating her audience (consciously or not) to entice further donations. "Donate this week for a chance to play with me on stream!" and stuff like that. Guy streamers do that, too, but it's with a totally different context. It doesn't have that undertone of 'maybe you'll get lucky with me~' that twitch girls have adopted.
Me, I don't mess with that. I don't donate to, nor view the streams of, any specific Twitch girls. Mostly because the chat is...extremely depressing. Nothing but dudes hucking compliments and throwing money at a girl just because she has a nice body and a bubbly personality.
Damn. Spot-on. ---
I don't hold grudges. Let's vehemently argue today and casually have a beer together tomorrow.