panem et circenses: the dangerous narcissism of spectacle

Lately, live streaming has been having a moment. From Twitter’s $1-million-per-game deal with the NFL to YouTube’s live coverage of everything from Coachella to the presidential debates, instant video is the social media trend du jour. Just last week, 1.2 million people watched simultaneously as April the giraffe, something of an internet sensation, gave birth. With over 232 million live views and 7.6 billion minutes of live watch time total, it was the second most live-viewed channel in the history of YouTube.