Capstone Project
Coleman Louie
Student Number: 100384900
Recreation 4400
2025-03-23

Table of Contents
Executive Summary....................................................................................................... 1

Introduction ................................................................................................................. 2

Background and Context ............................................................................................... 3

Literature Review .......................................................................................................... 4

Methodology................................................................................................................. 7

Research Findings and Analysis ..................................................................................... 9

Recommendations ..................................................................................................... 15

Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 17

Works Cited................................................................................................................ 19

Appendices ................................................................................................................ 24

Executive Summary
This paper investigated how the City of Richmond could improve its social media
engagement to increase community awareness of its recreation-based youth resources.
The central research question explored specific strategies for improving the City’s social
media presence through secondary and primary research analysis.
The secondary research revealed that social media had been shown to effectively reach
youth. The three most prominent social media trends found in the literature were the
use of influencers, short-form videos (reels), and authenticity. These trends were found
to effectively engage youth and increase participation in recreation-based programs.
However, controversies are associated with these trends, such as influencer messaging
being challenging for youth to differentiate from traditional marketing messaging,
offering an uncensored and authentic voice while also balancing public perception, and
social media itself demonstrating predatory characteristics on youth development.
The primary research revealed that the City of Richmond has a priority to investigate
innovative practices that can better reach youth. However, its current social media
practices lack consistency, and key documents do not reflect the importance of social
media. The primary research also found that the use of trends mentioned in the
literature (influencers, short-form videos, and authenticity), proved to be effective in
observations of a social media post and two Twitch livestreams. This paper emphasizes
that there are many opportunities for further research, such as more interviews,
clarification of photo release/waiver, and the long-term effects of consistent posting of
reels.
This paper concludes with tailored recommendations for the City of Richmond. These
recommendations are to create standardized social media practices, review and clarify
photo release/waiver, review job qualifications for the Youth Development Coordinator
position, implement reels and influencers into consistent practice, and present
authenticity in social media content.

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Introduction
Social media continues to grow and evolve with each passing day and has never been
more accessible, with most young people owning mobile devices that can host these
digital platforms and the minimum age requirement to join being just 13 (Ceci, 2022;
Forrest, 2024). This growth in popularity is reiterated by the fact that in 2022, 99% of
youth (aged 15-24) in Canada used the Internet, and 91% used social media (Statistics
Canada, 2024). Although affected by the dramatic stress of the COVID-19 pandemic
restrictions, these statistics underline the critical role that social media plays in the role
of youth. It further underlines a need for research on how social media can be leveraged
to reach the youth in our communities. Given this, my proposed research question for
this project is: How can the City of Richmond improve its social media engagement to
increase community awareness of recreation-based youth resources?
Operationalized Terms:
Social Media Engagement - Social media engagement is the way users interact with a
social media organization’s account’s “posts, comments, likes, and views.” (TarifaRodriguez, 2024). Social media engagement focuses on the active involvement of
social media users rather than passive.
Community Awareness - Community awareness is the public's understanding of local
issues, trends, norms, and available resources. It reflects the effectiveness of how
information is shared and how aware people are of important community matters.
(Mahat et al., 2023).
Recreation-Based Youth Resources - Recreation-based youth resources are any
programs, workshops, events, or activities created with the intent to contribute to the
health and well-being of youth. Youth will be the term used to describe young people
aged 13 to 24 (City of Richmond, N.D.).

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Background and Context
The City of Richmond is located within the Metro Vancouver area in the province of
British Columbia. The city is home to a population of roughly 209,935, with 32,950
(11.1%) between the ages of 15 and 24 (Statistics Canada, 2022). In the city, eight
recreation facilities currently offer recreation-based youth programming, such as Friday
night hangouts, open gyms, queer safe spaces, and youth leadership committees. In
addition to recreation facilities, the Richmond Art Centre hosts the Richmond Youth
Media Program, a program that allows youth to engage in a wide range of mixed media,
including sewing, screen printing, photography, graphic design, and music production.
Many of the recreation and cultural facilities in the City of Richmond have two Instagram
accounts: one for the general population and one for youth. During the pandemic, these
youth Instagram accounts were implemented as a way to reach youth from their homes.
Currently, they’re being used to promote youth-related events, programs, and
resources. Therefore, the scope of this paper is directed at how the City of Richmond
can improve the engagement of these youth Instagram accounts.
The City of Richmond’s Youth Strategy 2022-2032 highlights the importance of effective
communication to further the community's awareness of youth resources. One of the
priorities showcased is to “explore and implement safe, equitable and effective
communication tools to increase knowledge of local youth resources for youth and their
families” (City of Richmond, N.D.). This aligns with the scope of the research question,
which is to increase awareness of recreation-based youth resources.
The document also notes that youth feel unaware of available opportunities and often
struggle to locate information. In addition, youth have made it clear there’s a need for a
more centralized hub of information and resources while emphasizing the usefulness of
multi-platform promotion, mainly through social media and other digital media. These
research findings demonstrate a need for further research into how social media can be
used as a tool to deliver information to youth.

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Literature Review
The importance of social media in a youth’s life cannot be understated. Today, social
media acts as a place for youth to learn new information, connect with others, and
strengthen relationships (Jo and Jang, 2023). In addition, social media can trigger
feelings of belonging in youth, a key involvement in wellness (Lüders, 2025). Luders
(2025) illustrates that for youth, social media content is not merely entertainment: it’s a
means for youth to participate in culture and further recognize values.
The Canadian recreation field has used social media as a tool to create youth-led
solutions for local challenges and a city-wide network capable of connecting youth with
each other and their communities (Burd, 2010). In recent years, the USA has put in a
great deal of effort towards furthering research in this area. For example, in California,
researchers found that even just a brief social media message positively influenced the
likelihood of youth participation in natural forest areas (Schwab et al., 2020). This
connects to the fact that many of today’s youth were born with social media in their
lives, making them more reliant on social media for learning. The National Recreation
and Parks Association (2024) reiterates this idea in a recent survey they conducted
across the USA, where it was reported that social media is the most prominent source
for finding out about local events for Gen Zer’s. It is these findings that highlight the
crucialness of social media in reaching youth and promoting recreation opportunities.
In New Jersey, recreation professionals teaching a youth mental health course found
that by posting the positive experiences of youth participants on social media, they were
able to create awareness and foster consistent participation (Faulcon, 2024). In other
words, when posting the testimonies of the youth participants, the friends of these youth
see it and feel inspired to register. It’s this notion of using the stories of participants to
attract new participation that highlights the importance of influencers - valuable
collaborators who have the power and ability to reach diverse audiences. It’s also this
notion that underscores the indistinctive image influencers can pose on social media.
Stressing the fact that, theoretically, any user can become a social media influencer
(van der Bend et al., 2024).

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In Missouri, parks and recreation professionals explored the use of local microinfluencers and found that their influence helped shape community perception of various
events, leading to an increase in awareness and attendance (Reynolds, 2024). This
positive change in awareness and participation can be alluded to by the fact that using
influencers can be less aggressive and a more natural marketing strategy than using
paid ads (Expert Panel, 2023). However, the advantages of micro-influencers can also
be controversial because their marketing messages might be more difficult to
distinguish than paid advertisements.
In a Dutch study (2019), researchers found that youth have difficulty differentiating
marketing when posts contain subtle brand/ product placements (van der Bend et al.,
2024). Moreover, it was noted that smaller influencers like friends of youth were
deemed trustworthy because of their limited following and influence. These smaller
influencers have the ability to engage in highly integrated brand/ product
advertisements, which only heightens the confusion youth face in recognizing marketing
content. Although controversial, this literature suggests that smaller influencers have the
power to increase awareness, participation, and trustworthiness of social media content.
In addition to influencers, it was noted that youth prefer videos for advertisements
because they offer more opportunities for information and entertainment compared to a
static image (van der Bend et al., 2024). Furthermore, a preference for shorter videos
that are not too long. This exemplifies why many social media platforms popular with the
youth demographic, such as YouTube and Instagram, have all implemented their take
on the short video model (shorts and reels).
Social media trends such as partnering with influencers and short videos are part of a
list of practices that many successful social media accounts use. Another practice
mentioned throughout the literature is the use of authenticity. The expert panel at
Forbes emphasizes that authenticity is crucial when attempting to reach younger
audiences (2023). This focus on authentic messaging is also cited as an essential
contributor to reaching urban youth and convincing them to spend more time in nature
(Schwab et al., 2020). The idea of authentic messaging revolves around making content
that youth can connect and resonate with.
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However, creating content that is authentic is no easy feat. In a social media campaign
showcasing youth music, Plus and Cox (2017) found that the most significant challenge
came from trying to promote an authentic, uncensored voice (2019). They noted that
promoting the authentic and uncensored voice of one youth was difficult due to their
usage of profanity in their music. This resulted in the campaign needing to add a
warning of explicit language before the post. The difficulty of delivering an authentic and
uncensored voice while acknowledging the public perception is one of many challenges
associated with showcasing youth on social media.
The usage of social media as a tool to reach youth is controversial in itself, with many
youths exhibiting poor reflective and critical consumption habits on the platforms (AranRamspott, 2024). This notion illustrates an important idea: although the most beneficial
way to reach youth, the use of social media can also be seen as predatory, with many
youth having little to no control over their ability to consume social media in
moderation. Moreover, in a study exploring youth recreational forest use, researchers in
Switzerland (2017) found that “perceived boredom” caused by social media usage is a
strong deterrent (Oppliger et al., 2019). They highlight how the constant availability of
electronic entertainment, like social media, is leading to a decline in the ability to selfentertain. Therefore, making important self-entertaining recreation activities like
spending time in the forest less likely. This idea illustrates a key point: as technology
and social media evolve, so will the risks and negative consequences associated with
usage.
On the same premise of outdoor recreation use, social media content has been linked
to risky behavior. In a study based in New South Wales, Australia, researchers (2023)
found that social media increased visitation to national parks, economic growth, and
strain on the ecosystem (Cornell et al., 2025). Researchers found that a large portion of
the increased visitation to the park was sparked by photographers coming to the park to
try to take photos they saw on social media. This led to 36% of these social media
photographers engaging in risky behavior for photos, like bypassing barriers, dangling
their legs off cliff edges, and being in hazardous areas. This study emphasizes the

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importance of balancing safety precautions with social media engagement to ensure
that both youth and recreation amenities are not being compromised.
There are many gaps in the literature on how social media engagement can be used as
a tool to increase community awareness of recreation-based resources. One of these
gaps is that social media is still a new concept in the field of research. Thus, because
this concept is new, there are no longitudinal studies that have taken place on this topic
(Tam et al., 2024). Another gap is that there is no standardized evaluation process for
measuring the impact of social media campaigns. This means that whatever results this
paper finds will be primarily based on evaluations made by the author.
Despite the controversies and gaps in research, social media remains a powerful tool
for increasing community awareness of recreation-based youth resources. While
controversies surrounding influencers, authenticity, and outdoor engagement need to be
acknowledged, it’s also important to note that social media can foster meaningful
connections and promote positive recreational experiences. Future research should
focus on developing standardized evaluation methods and long-term studies to better
understand social media’s evolving role in youth engagement. By acting on trends such
as influencer partnerships, short-form video content, and authenticity, the City of
Richmond has the potential to reach more youth and increase community awareness of
recreation-based youth resources.

Methodology
Social media is currently one of the most accessible ways to reach the youth
demographic. Given this, the primary research in this paper will be devoted to exploring
the current use of social media for youth engagement within the City of Richmond.
Moreover, it investigates the practical use of trends such as influencers, short-form
videos, and authenticity. This is done through interviews with Youth Development
Coordinators (YDCs), content analysis of social media accounts and relevant
documents, and observations of an Instagram post and two Twitch livestreams.
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The interviews were scheduled with five YDCs under the City of Richmond. These
interviews were conducted over Zoom between February 28, 2025, and March 5, 2025.
They were conducted to gain insight into the current internal processes for posting
social media content in the City of Richmond, regarding their youth Instagram accounts.
To explore this, questions were asked identifying whether YDCs had ever used “shortform content,” “trends,” “influencers,” or “youth” in their social media content (appendix
1).
The content analysis looked at the social media accounts managed by the YDCs who
were interviewed for this project. Specifically, investigating their accounts (appendix 812) to see if there are any identifiable patterns in the content posted that garners more
engagement. The social media accounts were assessed by monitoring the likes,
comments, and views of successful Instagram posts/reels (appendix 7). The documents
will be evaluated by analyzing any mentions or lack thereof of social media (appendix
14, 16, and 18). In addition, the content analysis covers the City of Richmond Youth
Strategy 2022-2032 (appendix 13), the South Arm Community Association YDC Job
Posting (appendix 15), and the City of Richmond Photo and Release/Waiver (appendix
17). These documents give insight into how the City of Richmond currently sees social
media in pertinence to how they frame it in important/legal documents.
The observations looked at one social media post and two Twitch livestreams. The first
(appendix 19) was on March 9, 2025, at 1:30 pm, and it was an observation of a piece
of content made by Omar Rajan, a Youth Outreach Worker in charge of the City of
Richmond youth Instagram account. This observation was used to explore the
effectiveness of trends such as influencers, and short-form videos in a City of Richmond
youth Instagram account post. The effectiveness of the post was measured by
comparing its engagement metrics to the average engagement metrics per post. The
second (appendix 20) and third (appendix 21) observations were on March 11 and 14,
2025, and they were observations of popular League of Legends streamer Marc Lamont
(Caedrel), and popular chess streamer Alexandra Botez (BotezLive). These two
observations aimed to understand how successful Twitch content creators use social

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media trends such as authenticity in their livestreams. Authenticity was measured
through the streamers’ ability to connect and resonate with their audiences.

Research Findings and Analysis
Interviews
The interviews conducted were with Omar Rajan on February 28, 2025, at 3:00 pm
(Appendix 2), Kasie Kwook on March 4, 2025, 9:00 am (Appendix 3), Payton McNeill on
March 5, 2025, at 9:30 am (Appendix 4), Leonid Oldfield on March 5, 2025, at 12:00 pm
(Appendix 5), and Em Lee on March 5, 2020, at 2:00 pm (Appendix 6): five YDCs
working under the City of Richmond. Specifically, the Richmond Cultural Centre Annex,
the City Centre Community Centre, the South Arm Community Centre, the West
Richmond Community Centre, and the Cambie Community Centre. These interviews
were conducted to better understand current social media practices in the City of
Richmond. Examples of questions asked:
•

What social media platforms do you currently use?

•

Is there a set schedule for posting?

•

What types of messages do you promote?

•

Have you ever made short-form videos or used influencers?

The key finding from the interviews was that there are currently no concrete guidelines
for posting other than minor formatting requirements. This was made evident when the
YDCs were asked if there are “any guidelines or procedures that must be followed for
posting,” and three of the six explicitly mentioned there not being a lot of guidelines
other than certain branding (association and city logos) and description requirements.
Moreover, other than the formatting requirements, there were only two other guidelines
mentioned by two of the six YDCs: disclaimers before posting controversial topics and
not showcasing youth on Instagram.

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This ladder point is especially interesting since it exemplifies the confusion surrounding
social media guidelines. Mainly because it directly contradicts the regular practices of
one of the six Instagram accounts, which continuously posts youth. This account is the
City Centre Community Centre (CC) in Richmond. They have, like many other
community centers, a Youth Leadership program that enables youth to create and
implement events and projects within the community. City Centre CC is the only facility
that has leveraged its youth Leadership program, making youth-generated content into
a consistent practice. This exception alludes to the fact that all these social media
accounts are still new (only being implemented over the pandemic) and that, because of
this, there’s substantial confusion over which practices are supported.
Other reasons why many YDCs are not implementing youth-generated content is
because of the photo consent waivers and managerial concerns. It was noted that there
were significant barriers to getting parents to sign these photo releases/waivers.
Moreover, the timely process of signing them has led to missed marketing deadlines,
making the posts obsolete despite the effort by the youth to create the content. Another
reason some of the YDCs avoid using youth in their content is ethics, with some,
including managers, believing that it’s not in the best image of the City of Richmond to
showcase youth in their social media.

Content Analysis
Content Analysis of the Instagram accounts headed by the five interviewees was
conducted to explore whether posts garnering more engagement had any identifiable
trends. In addition, content analysis was performed on documents such as the City of
Richmond Youth Strategy 2022-2032, the South Arm Community Association YDC Job
Posting, and the City of Richmond Photo and Release/Waiver. This was to identify how
the City of Richmond references social media in strategic plans and legal documents.
This is important because it gives reference as to how social media is currently being
framed.

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Firstly, the five City of Richmond Youth Instagram accounts analyzed were the
@cityofrichmondyouth, @citycentreccyouth, @southarmccyouth, @westrichmondyouth
and @cambieyouth. These accounts were analyzed to investigate which types of City
of Richmond youth Instagram accounts garner the most attention and which posts are
most successful. This was measured by collecting data on which account posts had the
highest engagement: the top liked posts, top commented posts, and top liked reel.
Secondly, three City of Richmond public documents (Youth Strategy, Job Posting, and
Photo Release/Wavier) were analyzed. The content analyzed in these documents was
any mention of topics relevant to the scope of this research. In this case, it was
highlighting any use or lack thereof of the words social media or marketing. This content
was analyzed to give insight into the City of Richmond’s current use and perception of
social media regarding youth.
The key finding from the content analysis is that the City of Richmond’s goals of
implementing new practices to better reach youth do not align with the terminology of
key documents. To put it differently, in the City of Richmond’s Youth Strategy 20222032 document, the fifth strategic priority illustrates a need to use “innovative practices
to understand and respond to the changing needs of youth...” (City of Richmond, N.D.).
These innovative practices are evident through the City’s use of youth Instagram
accounts. Furthermore, it’s apparent by the use of social media trends that can be found
in the more successful posts of the youth's Instagram accounts. These trends are
influencers, short-form videos (reels), and authenticity.
The most liked and commented post was a reel (10.1k views, 218 likes, 7 comments)
made by the City Centre CC’s Youth Leadership Team, which showcased youth
promoting an upcoming youth volleyball event (City Centre, 2024). The post
demonstrated the key use of influencers through the use of youth to promote the event,
reels, and authenticity, highlighted by the youth’s passionate delivery and clever editing.
It’s important to note that these trends were also present in other highly engaged posts
(garnering over 1k views, 50 likes, 1 comment) made by the City Centre CC and the
Richmond Cultural Centre’s youth Instagram accounts.

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Despite social media being an effective way to reach youth and improve participation in
youth programs, the job requirements of YDCs don’t have any expectations of social
media literacy. In a job posting for YDC made by the South Arm Community
Association, there was no mention of social media or marketing experience as a
required qualification. However, marketing was mentioned in the desirable qualifications
section. This is important because it alludes to a misalignment between the City of
Richmond’s goals and the expectations of staff leading those initiatives.
In addition, the terminology in the Photo Release/Waiver does not reference any social
media practices or initiatives. In other words, the photo consent waiver does not
mention social media. It does, however, reference “website or other media (City of
Richmond, 2021),” when explaining what the promotional video footage/photos taken
might be used for. Another crucial barrier embedded in the waiver is the legal
terminology. This legalese makes it hard to decipher whether one photo consent form is
needed per social media post showcasing youth or whether one can suffice for multiple
posts. This repeats the theme that innovative practices, such as social media, are still
new to the City of Richmond, and therefore, their usage has not been reviewed or
standardized.

Observations
For this paper, three observations of public online content took place. This included
observations of an Instagram post and two Twitch livestreams. The first observation
was of an Instagram post made by the account ‘cityofrichmondyouth’ on March 9, 2025,
at 1:30 pm, six days after the post's release date on March 7, 2025. The observation
focused on a short-form video (reel) that was posted to promote a youth open-mic
event. The purpose of this observation was to observe a piece of content created with
the intent of using an influencer trend.
The second and third observations were of livestreams on the Twitch channel ‘Caedrel’
(March 11, 2025, at 1:00 am) and ‘BotezLive’ (March 14, 2025, at 1:30 pm). The first
stream was a co-stream of a professional League of Legends tournament (video game),
12

and the second showcased a professional chess player attempting a chess puzzle
challenge. The aim of these observations was to watch professional content creators, or
in other words, people who make a living around creating content on social media. More
importantly, observe how these people display authenticity to their viewers. Specifically,
through analyzing the themes, specific actions, and language of the livestreamers.
The key finding was that leveraging influencer trends such as imitating other
influencers, short-form videos, and authenticity was shown to be effective throughout
the observations. This was evident through the ‘cityofrichmondyouth’ youth stand-up
promotional reel, which successfully imitated simple effects made famous by another
influencer, Jordan Howlett. This reel was made by YDC Omar Rajan, who showcased
himself inviting youth in the community to a stand-up night at the Richmond Cultural
Centre. This video imitated Jordan Howlett’s style of social media because the frame
spotlighted Omar in the mirror and zoomed in further on him as Omar told the viewer to
come closer, two characteristic traits of a Jordan Howlett reel. However, it’s the ladder
trait of zooming in on the influencer as they tell you to come closer that really
exemplifies Jordan Howletts’ social media content. It’s this simple yet intimate technical
use of the zoom-in feature that enables the video to feel more personal, almost as if the
influencer is talking directly to the viewer. This technique enables viewers to feel more
connected to the influencer, thus alluding to elements of authentic messaging. This post
successfully increased engagement by receiving 97.18% more likes and 677.78% more
comments than the account's average likes and comments (Inflact, N.D.). This suggests
that creating short-form videos that incorporate famous influencer techniques can
increase the authenticity and engagement of social media posts.
In the two livestreams observed, both content creators exemplified abilities to connect
with their viewers on a deeper level. To put it differently, while observing these
streamers, it was noted that both had different ways of acknowledging and interacting
with their viewers. For example, in Caedrel’s Livestream, he commentated on a
professional League of Legends (LOL) match in an international tournament. This
means that the content of his stream focused solely on spectating, analyzing, and
commentating on the contents of the game that unfolded before him. While many
13

viewers (31k) of his stream are there for his analytical breakdown of the gameplay,
many are also there for his interaction with the chat -the section of the livestream where
live viewers can write comments that can be seen by all viewers with Caedrel included.
The chat is a pivotal part of Twitch’s livestreaming service and enables content creators
to interact directly with viewers. Throughout Caedrel’s live stream, there were many
times he referenced his chat, monitored his chat, made jokes with his chat, and asked
questions to his chat about aspects of the game, all contributing to feelings that the
viewers are just as integral to the experience as Caedrel himself. This highlights an
important aspect of authenticity: it’s a collaborative experience. What’s more,
throughout the livestream, Caedrel demonstrated an ability to use a conversational
commentary style, blending both professional analyses with informal language and
profanity. It was this focus on informal language that made his voice feel uncensored
and natural, thus further contributing to the authenticity of the livestream.
In Alex Botez’s livestream, her content focused on her attempting to solve 30 chess
puzzles in under three minutes. During the challenge, her mind and focus were solely
on the puzzles. However, in between the attempts, she actively worked to maintain
viewer interest through interaction with her chat. This was done by taking song requests
from the chat, answering questions from the chat, and explaining what she was doing to
the chat (challenge rules). At one point in the stream, she even acknowledges that her
content of attempting a puzzle challenge for as long as she had might not be the most
engaging for viewers. It’s this acknowledgment that her content was less exciting that
demonstrates vulnerability and honesty with the viewers. These aspects are something
that many viewers can resonate with and connect to, thus contributing to the
authenticity of the livestream. This notion supports the idea that authenticity can be
portrayed through acknowledging drawbacks with the viewers, not solely on the core
content itself.

Opportunities for Further Research
Based on the primary research conducted, there are many opportunities for further
research to understand the best ways the City of Richmond can leverage social media
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to increase awareness of recreation-based resources. Firstly, interviews with other
YDCs or people in charge of youth social media accounts at other municipalities would
be beneficial. Specifically, learning what other youth Instagram accounts outside of the
City of Richmond. Secondly, further clarification on photo release/waiver is crucial. This
topic opens up the potential for a review of the document and further research into how
the language can be more clear towards social media processes. Lastly, further
research is needed on the long-term effects of consistently posting reels highlighting
influencers (youth or youth workers). This would add definitive findings to the social
media suggestions found in the primary research and would better inform the City of
Richmond’s best practices.

Recommendations
This paper explored how the City of Richmond could improve its social media
engagement to increase community awareness of recreation-based youth resources.
Here are five findings based on the primary and secondary research conducted.

1. Create Standardized Social Media Practices
There is a lack of consistent guidelines and understanding surrounding social media
use among Youth Development Coordinators (YDCs) within the City of Richmond. Many
of the recreation YDCs interviewed mentioned different/contradicting practices. For
instance, the City Centre Community Centre creates youth-generated content on its
youth Instagram account, even though the use of youth in social media content has
been unachievable for many of the other accounts. This inconsistency highlights the fact
that all these accounts are still new and thus would benefit from creating standardized
social media practices that can be implemented across all youth Instagram accounts.

2. Review and Clarify Photo Release/Waiver
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A significant barrier identified throughout the interviews is the process of obtaining photo
consent for youth to be featured in social media content. The lengthy and complex
process leads to missed marketing deadlines and, in some cases, discourages YDCs
from using youth in their posts. Moreover, the current waiver does not explicitly mention
social media, referring only to "website or other media," which causes further ambiguity.
These findings suggest that a review of the photo release/waiver would be beneficial for
social media practice concerns.

3. Review Job Qualifications for Youth Development Coordinator Position
The City of Richmond's job postings for YDCs currently do not reflect the need for social
media or marketing experience as a required qualification. While marketing is listed as
desirable, this paper suggests that explicit reference to social media experience should
be added to desirable as well. This is because social media has evolved into one of the
most innovative practices for reaching youth, and thus, experience in this area should
be valued and sought after.

4. Implement Reels and Influencers into Consistent Practice
The literature indicates that influencers, although controversial, are effective ways to
improve social media awareness, participation, and trustworthiness. It was also noted in
the literature that short-form videos (reels) are more appealing than static image posts.
This is also reflected in the content analysis, where the posts that gained the most
engagement (likes, comments, views) were reels showcasing influencers promoting
future community events. Furthermore, observations of a recently posted Instagram reel
by '@cityofrichmondyouth' that incorporated an influencer showed a significant boost in
likes and comments compared to the account's average. These findings suggest that
the current practices of creating reels and showcasing influencers are a successful way
to increase engagement of youth Instagram accounts.

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5. Present Authenticity in Social Media Content
The literature highlighted that authentic messaging, creating content that youth can
connect and resonate with, has the ability to not just engage youth but increase the
likelihood of them participating in recreation-based activities. In addition, the literature
highlighted challenges with authenticity concerning delivering youth an uncensored
voice while also balancing public perception. The theme of delivering an uncensored
voice was reiterated in the observations of two popular livestreamers on Twitch.
Moreover, it was observed that the efforts made by the content creators to interact with
their viewers/audience were a substantial contributor to their authentic image. These
findings suggest that implementing authenticity is crucial for improving social media
engagement and increasing awareness of recreation-based youth resources.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the purpose of this paper was to investigate how the City of Richmond
could improve its social media engagement to increase community awareness of its
recreation-based youth resources. Given the prominent presence of social media in the
lives of Canadian youth, understanding how to effectively utilize social media as a tool is
crucial for reaching and informing the youth in our communities.
The literature review noted that adopting successful social media trends like short-form
videos (reels) and collaborations with influencers, have been shown to significantly grow
engagement. In addition, the implementation of authenticity in social media content
proved to not only increase awareness but also participation of recreation-based
activity. It’s important to note that all these social media trends come with controversies
and challenges due to the ethical complications of promoting to youth on social media
and delivering an uncensored voice.
The findings of the primary research reveal several key insights into the current social
media practices within the City of Richmond and potential areas for improvement. The
interviews with Youth Development Coordinators (YDCs) highlighted a lack of
17

standardized guidelines for social media posting and a confusion regarding the use of
youth in content. Furthermore, barriers to obtaining photo consent and managerial
concerns were identified as barriers to featuring youth in content. Content analysis of
the City’s youth Instagram accounts, and relevant documents indicated a misalignment
between the City's strategic goals of using innovative practices to reach youth and the
explicit requirements in job postings for YDCs and the terminology used in the photo
release waiver.
Despite these challenges, the research also illuminated promising avenues for
enhancing social media engagement. The analysis of successful Instagram posts
demonstrated that short-form videos (reels) and content featuring influencers garnered
the highest levels of engagement, aligning with trends identified in the literature.
Moreover, observations of both a City of Richmond youth Instagram reel and popular
Twitch livestreams underscored the effectiveness of incorporating authenticity in content
to connect with and resonate with audiences. This suggests that by embracing these
trends, the City of Richmond can more effectively capture the attention of its youth
population on social media, thus increasing awareness of recreation-based resources.
Ultimately, this paper provides a foundation for the City of Richmond to strategically
refine its social media practices to better connect with youth on social media. By
creating standardized social media guidelines, reviewing and clarifying the photo
release/waiver, considering social media experience in YDC job qualifications,
consistently implementing reels and influencer collaborations, and prioritizing authentic
content, the City of Richmond can significantly improve its social media engagement to
increase community awareness of recreation-based youth resources.

18

Works Cited
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I. (2024). Young Digital Citizens: Perception of their Media and Transmedia
Competence. El Profesional de La Información, 33(3), 1–14.
https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2024.0309 (List A)

Botez, A. [BotezLive]. (2025, March 14). puzzle addiction [Livestream]. Twitch.
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2405605554

Burd L. (2010). Developing technological initiatives for youth participation and local community
engagement. New Directions for Youth Development, 2010(128), 95–104.
https://doi.org/10.1002/yd.379 (List A)

Cambie Youth. @cambieyouth. (2025, January 4). Richmond’s Youth Team is happy to
announce the winners of this seasons Winter Through You(th)s eyes [photo post]. City
of Richmond. https://www.instagram.com/p/DFOm7pASyNS/?img_index=1

Ceci, L. (2022, July 19). Canada: mobile phone usage among children and teens in Canada
2022, by age. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1319950/canada-mobileusage-kids-and-teens-byage/#:~:text=As%20of%20April%202022%2C%2039,between%2012%20and%2017%2
0years. (List C)

City Centre Youth. (2024, February 18). Jumpstart presents…. SPIKE SLAM SHOWDOWN on
Friday, March 1st from 7:15-9:45PM @ Anderson School Gym [Reel]. City of Richmond.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3ZTykouBe1/
19

City of Richmond. (2021). Photograph and video waiver/release. City of Richmond.
https://www.richmond.ca/__shared/assets/photo_waiver71060.pdf

City of Richmond. (N.D.). Youth Strategy 2022-2032. City of Richmond.
https://www.richmond.ca/__shared/assets/draftyouthstrategy66252.pdf

City of Richmond Youth. @cityofrichmondyouth. (2025, March 4). The Mic Drop is this Friday!
5pm-8pm at the Richmond Cultural Centre Annex [Reel]. City of Richmond.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGypMfTSNFl/

Cornell, S., Peden, A. E., & Brander, R. W. (2025). The Safety of Social Media Instigated
Visitation to National Parks in New South Wales, Australia: Insights From a Population
Representative Sample. Health Promotion Journal of Australia : Official Journal of
Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals, 36(2), e70009.
https://doi.org/10.1002/hpja.70009 (List B)

Expert Panel. (2023, September 19). 16 Ways To Reach Younger Audiences In A Fractured
Media Environment. Forbes Communications Council.
https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbescommunicationscouncil/2023/09/19/17-ways-toreach-younger-audiences-in-a-fractured-media-environment/ (List D)

Faulcon, A. (2024). Recreation Professionals Support Teen Mental Health. Parks &
Recreation, 59(9), 24–25. (List B)

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Forrest, M. (2024, March 18). Australia considers social media ban for teens; Quebec watching
closely. National Post. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/australia-social-mediaban-quebec-watching (List D)

Inflact. (n.d.). Profile analyzer: @cityofrichmondyouth. Inflact. Retrieved March 9, 2025, from
https://inflact.com/tools/profile-analyzer/?profile=cityofrichmondyouth

Jo, S., & Jang, M. Y. (2023). Concept analysis of adolescent use of social media for emotional
well‐being. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 29(1), 1–8.

https://doi.org/10.1111/ijn.13116 (List A)

Lamont, M. [Caedrel]. (2025, March 11). FIRST STAND INTERNATIONAL DAY 2 KC VS CFO
// TL VS LIQUID #FirstStandWatchParty !dpmlol !discord !displate [Livestream]. Twitch.
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2402788219

Lüders, M. (2025). Experience machines for well-being? Understanding how social media
entertainment matters for teens. Media, Culture & Society, 47(1), 154–170.
https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437241276122 (List A)

Mahat, H., Hussein, S. W., Saleh, Y., Hashim, M., Nayan, N., Said, Z. M., & Kurniawan, E.
(2023). Social Media as a Medium for Disseminating Community Awareness of
Environmental Issues in Malaysia. TEM Journal, 12(3), 1658–1667.
https://doi.org/10.18421/TEM123-47 (List A)

21

Oppliger, J., Lieberherr, E., & Hegetschweiler, K. T. (2019). Factors influencing teenagers’
recreational forest use in a densely-populated region in Switzerland. Journal of Outdoor
Recreation and Tourism, 27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2019.100225 (List A)

Plush, T., & Cox, R. (2019). Hey, Hey, Hey—Listen to What I Gotta Say: Songs Elevate Youth
Voice in Alberta Wildfire Disaster Recovery. Engaged Scholar Journal: CommunityEngaged Research, Teaching, and Learning, 5(2), 181–194.
https://doi.org/10.15402/esj.v5i2.68343 (List A)

Recreation Management. (2024, April 2). NRPA Survey: Social Media, Word-of-Mouth Help
People Learn of Community Events. CAB Communications, Inc. (List B)

Reynolds, A. (2024). The Influencer Era: How trendsetters can help enrich your social media
marketing. Parks & Recreation, 58(13), 48–51. (List B)

Schwab, K., Hendricks, W. W., Greenwood, J. B., Goldenberg, M., Greenwood, B., & Higgins,
L. (2020). Connecting with Nature in the Digital Age: Intentions of Adolescents in
California Urban Areas. Journal of Park & Recreation Administration, 38(1), 29–49.
https://doi.org/10.18666/JPRA-2019-9822 (List A)

South Arm Community Association. (2024). Youth Development Coordinator. City of
Richmond.
https://www.richmond.ca/__shared/assets/youth_development_worker74359.pdf

Statistics Canada. (2023, November 15). Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population.
(Catalogue no. 98-316-X2021001). Released November 15, 2023.
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https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E
(List C)

Statistics Canada. (2024, February 27). Young people and exposure to harmful online content
in 2022. (Catalogue no. 11-627-M). https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-627-m/11627-m2024005-eng.htm (List C)

Tam, M. T., Wu, J. M., Zhang, C. C., Pawliuk, C., & Robillard, J. M. (2024). A Systematic
Review of the Impacts of Media Mental Health Awareness Campaigns on Young
People. Health Promotion Practice, 25(5), 907–920.
https://doi.org/10.1177/15248399241232646 (List A)

Tarifa-Rodriguez, A., Virues-Ortega, J., Perez-Bustamante Pereira, A., Calero-Elvira, A., &
Cowie, S. (2024). Quantitative Indices of Student Social Media Engagement in Tertiary
Education: A Systematic Review and a Taxonomy. Journal of Behavioral
Education, 33(4), 769–797. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-023-09516-6 (List A)

van der Bend, D. L. M., Beunke, T. A., Shrewsbury, V. A., Bucher, T., & van Kleef, E. (2024).
My feed is what I eat? A qualitative study on adolescents’ awareness and appreciation
of food marketing on social media. Journal of Human Nutrition & Dietetics, 37(5), 1320–
1335. https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.13336 (List A)

23

Appendices
1) Question Guide
1. What is your youth centre like? When is it open? How’s participation? Have a
lot of regulars?
2. What social media platforms do you currently use to promote your youth
centre?
3. Is there one person in charge of posting or a group of people?
4. Is there a set schedule for posting content? How far in advance?
5. What type of messages do you post on social media?
6. Do you have any guidelines or procedures that must be followed for posting?
Municipal guidelines?
7. Have you ever tried making short-form content?
8. Have you ever used online trends or influencers in your social media?
9. Have you ever used youth in your social media content? Would you need
permission before posting?

2) Transcript from Zoom interview with Omar Rajan on Feb 28, 2025, at 3:00 pm
1. In charge of the Richmond Youth Media Program (cityofrichmondyouth) is the
Instagram handle, a free program for ages 13-24. The program takes place at
varying times between Tuesday and Saturday, with Tue-Thur 3-6 pm, Friday
5-8 pm, and Sat 12-4 pm. Moreover, each day has different focuses, with
Tue/Thur/Sat being dedicated to regular drop-ins, Wednesday physical media
(i.e., sewing, print media), and Friday live performances (i.e., music concerts,
DJs, stand-up, open-mic). In January, 245 youth attended the program over
22 sessions. This program is a referral-based program that offers amenities
24

such as free photography, videography, piano, drums, music recording,
coding, sewing, four mirrorless cameras, etc. The program takes referrals
from the school district, foundry, and other mental health providers; however,
the youth can also refer themselves. Currently, staff will let non-referred youth
come to participate in the program for the first three sessions as a trial run
before asking them to go through the intake process. This program is a nonprofit and is partnered with Richmond Addiction Services.
2. The Richmond Youth Media Program uses Instagram and YouTube.
However, the YouTube account is still a work in progress, with only one
posted video. They plan to release another video showcasing one of their
latest events: Battle of the Bands.
3. There’s a team in charge of the Instagram account. The two outreach workers
lead the social media account.
4. The posting schedule is every Tuesday, plus additional posting with events. In
addition, the schedule is organized through the Youth Development
Coordinator calendar to ensure double posting does not occur. This calendar
also enables the Youth Development Coordinator to create collaborative
posts on Instagram with each other and community partners. Lastly, the
accounts tend to post day-to-day stories.
5. In the past, the Instagram account mainly posted callouts to artists, event
promotion, and program promotion.
6. There are no formal guidelines for posting. This is mainly due to the whole
process being new - prior to the pandemic, they did have accounts. However,
in the past, when attempting to post a youth showcase on Instagram, I was
told not to by the Managers. Also, the managers have communicated to
YDCs not to use Cap Cut or TikTok.
7. Yes, there have been many reels posted on the account. The first one ever
was on April 20, 2020. It was a video of each youth worker doing a little intro
and then throwing toilet paper to the next through clever editing. The team
25

aims to do one every so often. The last Christmas video posted has a
thousand views.
8. Yes, the account has used trends in the past. One example was a Harlem
Shake-esq video. Another was a Christmas ornament video that followed a
trend popular in 2022.
9. Yes, the latest reel on the Instagram account is a video showcasing a youth’s
project to make a race-worthy go-kart. This video was approved and
demonstrates the ethical grey area, which is spotlighting youth on the
Instagram account.

3) Transcript from Zoom interview with Kasie Kwook on March 4, 2025, 9:00 am
1. In charge of all youth programming at City Centre Community Centre
(citycentreccyouth). This includes registered programs such as science,
dance, arts, and the Youth Leadership Teams. This volunteer program has
130 high school participants split off into six different teams, with each team
planning different themed events (carnival, health & wellness, culture, etc.).
2. Marketing is done through Instagram and through the YDC team. Moreover,
the youth network table which includes Richmond Addiction Services and
Foundry. In regards to the Youth Leadership Teams, one of which is
dedicated to Marketing, which means they’re responsible for Canva posters.
These posters need to include the City Centre CC logos.
3. The Director of Marketing is in charge of the social media accounts.
4. The Youth Leadership Team uses Google Drive to schedule posts under the
folder All Friends Unite. The youth must then add their post with a postdate to
the group drive. This must be done 72 hours – 1 week in advance.
5. Mainly promotional, however, also use the account to showcase mental
health events such as Bell Let’s Talk Day. Also, use the account to thank
Youth participants and volunteers of programs.
26

6. Some guidelines are that if the post covers a controversial topic such as body
positivity, burnout prevention, or eating disorders, a caption disclaimer is
added. However, most of the time, I prefer to just say it in the welcome talk of
events and programs. Mainly because getting enough participants for these
programs is a struggle, and adding disclaimers can be a determent factor.
7. Last year staff made a lot of reels. One reel was for a clothing shop and did
well - it got 9k views. The youth who make the reels reach the youth that they
know. Most reels get 4k+ views.
8. Most of the reels that the Youth Leadership Teams post are from TikTok
trends. Trends such as the phone light dance and the gingerbread building
event.
9. Before the Youth Leadership Team can post content or even join the team, all
130 of them need to sign the informed consent form and a photo consent
form.

4) Transcript from Zoom interview with Payton McNeill on March 5, 2025, at 9:30
am
1. In charge of 10 programs. The programs run every day of the week and cover
a little bit of everything. The drop-in is open from 3-4 pm Monday and Fridays.
Friday is 8:00-11:30 pm Basketball. There’s a Pre-teen hangout on Thursday.
Youth come in every lunch hour from the high school. They also come in
immediately after school.
2. Marketing is done through Instagram (Southarmccyouth).
3. The person in charge of posting is just me (Payton).
4. Try to post around 3:00 pm when youth would be opening phones after
school. Sometimes I use the pre-schedule tool. Never post during school
hours because you don’t want to encourage phone use during class. The
approval process takes 2-5 days.
27

5. Messages and content consist mainly of events, monthly calendars, trips
coming up, classes with low registration, volunteer opportunities, memes on
stories, and posters from the city, such as the latest photography exhibition.
6. The guidelines revolve around a posting template depicting certain branding
in places and a specific layout where the logo, date, pre-typed info,
registration info, and age are meant to be kept.
7. Yes, in the time that I’ve had the YDC job, I’ve posted two reels, with another
one coming soon. However, the reels will not be included in the reels due to
the barrier of photo release forms.
8. Not actively using trends except for a few memes, but it’s necessary that
they’re relevant.
9. Posted some youth on the story in the past, with consent forms signed. One
story was about them putting up a poster. However, this is not a consistent
practice because the photo consent form process takes too long, and they
would need to have them signed for every single activity.

5) Transcript from Zoom interview with Leonid Oldfield on March 5, 2025, at 12:00
pm
1. I am the YDC at West Richmond Community Centre (westrichmondyouth),
which is one of the smaller facilities. Responsibilities include the youth (13-24)
and pre-teen (9-12) programs. These programs include the Youth-in-Action
committee, which has 30 total participants that meet on Mondays from 4:00 –
5:00 pm. A recent event was Pink Shirt Day, where we hosted a rock painting
session where youth drew on rocks what kindness looked like to them.
There’s also a pre-teen committee called Leadership Take-Action, which is
smaller in scale and is mainly dedicated to helping in other programs and
making posters. We also have many one-off workshops, one of which is a
financial literacy workshop where accountants come in to teach youth about
28

investing. Also, we recently organized the city-wide photography challenge,
where youth participated in a contest to see who could take the best picture in
the community. Lastly, we do open gyms, late-night hangouts on Fridays,
DnD club, BBQs, Pizza nights, and camps.
2. Platforms currently being used are Instagram where most content is made
with Canva.
3. I’m (Leonid) in charge and oversee the Instagram account. Try to use content
and promotion made by the Youth-in-Action committee. Have recently made a
collaborative post for the photography challenge.
4. The schedule revolves around posting when it comes up and fits in. If it’s a
specific program, I’ll post it a couple of weeks before the season starts. In
other words, post it when the program is visible on the website before the
registration.
5. Tend to post promotional content to the Instagram account highlighting
programs that need a boost, big events, scholarships, programs that are
being canceled, and things that have been done. Last year's Youth-in-Action
committee made a Lunar New Year and Earth Day post. Will try and include
promotions highlighting upcoming holidays in the calendar given by the
school boards
6. There are not really many guidelines other than certain messaging and
posting templates.
7. I have never done it personally and have never made a reel. However, the
Youth-in-Action committee has attempted to. It never made it to the account
because of missed deadlines.
8. The staff don’t use trends, but the youth do. They’ll incorporate the trends into
the promotion of a youth event. I believe that Steveston and City Centre have
had more success time in doing this.

29

9. Not yet. This issue is that it’s not a streamlined process. The permission
process takes too much time, effort, and thought. The Youth-in-Action
committee is usually just trying to get marketing and word out by creating a
poster that can be included in an Instagram post. In the past, they had a
youth competition to create a West Richmond Youth-in-Action committee
logo, which currently is the Instagram account profile picture.

6) Transcript from Zoom interview with Em Lee on March 5, 2020, at 2:00 pm
1. The YDC for Cambie Community Centre (cambieyouth). The youth programs
are open from Monday to Friday. There’s a youth (13-18) open gym for
Basketball and Volleyball. On Fridays, it runs from 6:00 – 8:30 pm and 9:00 –
11:30 pm. Other programs include multisport, hip hop, LGBTQ2S + program,
and Youth-Taking Charge committee. In addition, there’s also a special
monthly Friday night hangout where there’s more of an incentive, like hot
chocolate and clay charm making.
2. The primary platform currently being used is Instagram.
3. I’m (Em) in charge of and oversee the Instagram account.
4. There’s not a strict schedule for posting content. However, the goal is to post
one week before relevancy. For example, if there’s an event next Friday, post
the promotional content this Monday.
5. Mainly use the Instagram account as a tool to highlight programs, events,
youth resources, and youth showcases. Also, try to post different types of
mental health promotion -adding comments such as friends are family to the
Family Day post and more description on why Pink Shirt Day is important to
the Pink Shirt Day post.
6. There are not a lot of guidelines; the ERCA (Cambie Association) gives more
leniency towards the Cambie youth Instagram. This enables less rigid and
more tactful reel content.
30

7. Have lots of experience making reels on Instagram.
8. Try to get some of the staff who are younger and recently attended the Friday
night hangout to be included in the reels because they’re more effective in
identifying and using youth-relevant trends. One limitation to using trends is
the business suite account. This account does not enable trending audio
(Chappell Roan) to be used in the background of videos. One past event
called Models and Marketing gave youth who filled out consent forms,
volunteer hours for posing in promotional content.
9. Yes, however, the photo consent forms are a significant barrier to doing this
on a consistent basis.

7) Content Analysis of the City of Richmond Youth Social Media Accounts

8) @cityofrichmondyouth

9) @citycentreccyouth

10) @southarmccyouth

31

11) @westrichmondyouth

12) @cambieyouth

13) City of Richmond Youth Strategy 2022-2032

14) Content Analysis of City of Richmond Youth Strategy 2022-2032
•

Document highlights key research on youth and social media

•

Social media was used as a means to promote the survey that informed the
strategy

•

The survey was done during the COVID-19 pandemic

•

Youth prefer social media as the place to learn about youth resources and
opportunities in the community

•

McCreary Centre Society reported that 74% of Richmond Youth engaged in
online activities, including social media and watching videos instead of
sleeping

•

In regard to unstructured time, it was reported that social media had the
highest daily use citations, followed by spending time alone, and then
spending time with family.

15) JOB POSTING South Arm Community Association Youth Development
Coordinator

16) Content Analysis of South Arm Community Association YDC Job Posting
•

Promote the positive contributions of youth to the community
32

•

Perform duties consistent with the guiding principles of the city strategies

•

Create, prepare, and distribute promotional materials using mixed mediums;
including web-based promotions

•

Keep current with best practices to serve all youth

•

No reference to social media marketing experience in the Required
Qualification section

•

Marketing and event planning skills are noted in the Desirable Qualifications
section

17) City of Richmond Photo and Video Release/Waiver

18) Content Analysis of City of Richmond Photo Release/Waiver
•

No mention of social media in the document

•

Social media is referred to as “other media”

•

Language makes it unclear whether the waiver only accounts for one social
media posting or multiple

19) Observation of cityofrichmondyouth Instagram post on March 9, 2025, at 1:30
pm
•

The post was released on March 4, 2025

•

The post is a promotional video (reel) for a Youth open-mic event that took
place on March 7, 2025

•

The post is inspired by Jordan Howlett, aka jordan_the_stallion8, a social
media content creator and influencer

33

•

The post showcases Omar Rajan, a Youth Development Coordinator,
speaking in a calm and concise way to the viewer

•

The post starts with Omar giving the viewer a brief overview of the event:
time, date, locations, name

•

The next part of the video has Omar tell the viewer to come closer, where he
then zooms in on himself, further enlarging himself in the frame of the video

•

This is a technique coined by Jordan Howlett

•

Omar then goes on to further describe the event, noting that this event will be
a supportive space for youth to try performing in front of an audience and that
it’s also a space for any youth that wants to come and spectate live music
performed by local Richmond youth

•

He then concludes his video by telling the viewer to come through and lastly
reiterates the time and date of the event

•

The post currently has 56 likes and seven comments

•

The post garnered six comments on March 4 and one on March 5

•

Five of the six comments posted on March 4 are positive, with viewers noting
their excitement with kind messages and emojis

•

One of the six comments posted on March 4 is a user trying to promote their
BMX biking lessons

•

The post on March 5 is positive as well

20) Observation of Caedrel Twitch Stream on March 11, 2025, at 1:00 am
•

Co-stream of First Stand International League of Legends (LOL) Tournament

•

Game 1 of Karmine Corp (KC), the European representative, and CTBC
Flying Oyster (CFO), the Taiwanese representative
34

•

Has currently 31,783 viewers

•

The game begins with the champion select phase

•

Caedrel gives thoughts on different picks per team

•

Used the word merchant (trendy language) to describe a player who has
picked a champion more than three times

•

Analysis of champion selection is very thorough

•

Has a clear, calm, and knowledgeable tone

•

Speaks almost as if talking to a friend

•

Does not overuse or force trendy language

•

Mainly uses LOL terminology

•

Runs ads as the champion select phase ends and right before the game
begins

•

The subscribed (paying) viewers are not forced to watch the ads, while the
rest of the viewers are

•

Gives opinions and critiques on the gameplay

•

Uses profanity (in moderation)

•

Asks Questions to the chat

•

Chat responds to his commentating and reactions

•

Makes jokes

•

Caedrel reacts to commentators in the game

•

Uses the word lawyer to describe a viewer who keeps defending a team

•

Uses imagery and metaphors

•

Constantly monitoring chat

35

•

Uses the word cooked to describe the doomed-like state of the game for one
of the teams

•

Is visibly passionate about the game, yelling and screaming while watching
towards the end

•

Clearly biased towards the European representatives, which adds to the
humor

•

Uses the term don’t be weird.

•

Ended observation at 1:50 am while he had 55,850 viewers

•

View rate grew throughout the Stream observed

21) Observation of Botezlive Twitch Stream on March 14, 2025, at 1:30 pm
•

Alex Botez, professional chess player and chess content creator

•

She’s doing chess puzzles on chess.com

•

Has currently 1,768 viewers

•

Her goal is to complete 30 puzzles in puzzle rush before she runs out of her
three lives (gets three puzzles wrong) or runs out of her three-minute time
limit.

•

Has music playing in the background

•

Uses profanity when she makes a mistake or messes up the challenge

•

Usually stays quiet while attempting to complete the puzzle challenge

•

Uses the term locked-in to describe her mental state towards completing the
challenge

•

Explaining to viewers what she’s trying to do

•

Runs ads at random points in the stream for non-subscribed viewers
36

•

Very determined to complete the challenge

•

Makes comment that she’s aware this type of puzzle content might not be the
most engaging for viewers

•

Makes joke that she’d been doing puzzles for three hours and that her brain
was starting to feel fried

•

Makes great efforts to respond to chat and switch the music between
attempts

•

Ended observation of Stream at 2:30 pm while she had 1,735 viewers

•

Viewers stayed consistent throughout the Stream observed

37