DiMons: Why 12M Donations?

Imagine: you're sitting in a cozy room, drinking tea and scrolling through your news feed. Suddenly, you learn that someone transferred 12 million rubles to a little-known streamer. Not for charity, not for a child's treatment, but just like that — to watch a person humiliate themselves live.

Logic fails. Common sense is silent. And the amount continues to grow, accumulating new rumors and discussions.

DiMons — a name that has become a symbol of this phenomenon. And the question that torments everyone: why? Why do people give huge sums of money to watch someone else's downfall?

The 12 Million Figure: Myth or Reality?

Before delving into psychology, it is important to make one clarification. The figure of 12 million rubles, which wanders from public to public, is most likely the cumulative amount of donations over a long period or the result of manipulation.

In reality, the average donation on trash streams ranges from 250 to 500 rubles. Large sums, from 5 to 10 thousand rubles, are a rare exception. And sums approaching millions, if they exist, are either the sum of thousands of donations from different viewers, or a PR move by the streamer themselves.

It's important to understand this so as not to fall into illusion: trash streamers do not become millionaires overnight. But even a few hundred thousand rubles a month is serious money. And the psychological mechanisms that make people part with them work equally well for a 100 ruble donation as for a 100 thousand ruble donation.

Three Types of Viewers: Who Pays for Humiliation

Researchers studying the phenomenon of trash streams identify several psychological portraits of viewers who send money to streamers.

1. "The Lord": Thirst for Power and Control

The most common type. A person who feels powerless in real life — at work they are commanded, in the family they are not heard, in society they are a "cog." A 100 ruble donation allows them to feel like a king.

For this money, they can order the streamer to do anything: get covered in dirt, hit themselves, insult another participant in the broadcast. And the streamer - obeys.

"Those who send donations want to be involved in the actions of the broadcaster. If they send money, the chances of the broadcaster noticing them increase, which means they can ask a question and get feedback, thereby becoming closer to the streamer than the rest of the audience."

This feeling of control is a powerful drug. And trash streams provide it cheaply and cheerfully.

2. "The Victim": Compensation for One's Own Pain

This is a more complex and tragic type. A person who has himself once encountered violence or humiliation, but could not cope with it or did not receive support. Watching the humiliation of others allows them to symbolically "play out" their trauma.

"The viewer identifies with the characters of the viewed material, duplicating in their consciousness the emotions and experiences that the characters — "tormentors" and "victims" — experience. And if the heroes of trash videos can ultimately suffer, the viewers remain safe."

Watching another suffer is a way of telling oneself: "I am not alone. I am not the unhappiest. And this time it's not me who hurts."

3. "The Rescuer": A False Sense of Significance

The third type of viewer is one who donates to "help." They feel sorry for the streamer who is destroying their life on camera. It seems to them that if they transfer money, they will support the person, give them a chance to get out.

The paradox is that these donations are fuel for further downfall. The more money a streamer receives for humiliation, the lower they are willing to go to get more.

"People can boast about it to others: the streamer answered me, my name is on their screen. If they managed to surprise their surroundings, the teenager feels higher in rank in their social group."

The Biology of Trash Content: Why the Brain Can't Let Go

Behind the popularity of trash streams lies not only psychology but also pure biology. Our brain reacts to cruelty in the same way as to danger in real life — with a release of adrenaline.

"When watching scenes of cruelty, the brain reacts with a release of adrenaline, as if what is happening on the screen happened to us in real life. At the same time, we understand that we are safe and feel relief."

Trigger → Action → Reward. This is the classic addiction scheme that slot machines, lotteries, and — yes — social networks operate on.

YouTube and Twitch algorithms, which feed the viewer increasingly shocking content, create an "attention trap." The sensitivity threshold increases. What caused disgust yesterday seems boring today. The viewer needs more. More blood, more humiliation, more suffering.

And streamers go along with it. Because behind it is money.

70% of What Happens Is Determined Not by the Streamer, but by the Viewer

Cultural scientist Ekaterina Kolpinets made an important remark in an interview with "Deutsche Welle":

"In principle, questions about ethics, about the boundaries of what is permissible, should be asked here not to the streamer himself, but to the audience. Because everything happens for them."

This overturns the usual worldview. We are used to thinking that the streamer is the villain, and the viewers are just witnesses. In reality, viewers are co-authors. They control what happens through donations and comments. They determine how cruel the next broadcast will be.

Another researcher, Stanislav Nikulin, associate professor at the Department of Psychology of Moscow State Psychological and Pedagogical University, adds:

"Viewers remain safe, observing the suffering of others. This allows them to compensate for their own traumas or simply get thrills without risk to themselves."