Streaming as an affective infrastructure of platform capitalism: attention, identity and fan communities of generation Z and millennials

This article examines streaming as a specific affective infrastructure of platform capitalism, within which the scarce resource of attention is redistributed and new forms of cultural experience are constructed for Generation Z and millennials. Based on the integration of data from the global Netflix Ads “Still Watching 2025” study (quantitative surveys, qualitative narratives, and platform behavioral datasets) and its comparison with the Russian media context, key transformations in media consumption are analyzed: the transition from a fragmented “background” to a mode of deep, emotionally charged engagement, a shift in quality criteria from institutional assessments to subjective resonance, and the formation of a multifaceted, “polysubjective” audience whose identity is manifested and assembled through viewing history. Streaming services are viewed as social environments in which an endless selection of content, algorithmic personalization, and fan ecosystems converge to produce new modes of self-knowledge, emotional self-regulation, and collective identity. Particular attention is paid to the phenomenon of fandom as a networked, dynamic, and globalized form of cultural participation that extends beyond the screen and structures spatial, leisure, and consumer practices (tourism, immersive events, merchandising). It is shown that streaming acts not only as an intermediary between viewers and content but also as a mediator between viewers and brands: advertising, integrated into narrative and affective flows, is legitimized through trust in the platform and perceived as an extension of the experience, rather than an external intervention. A thesis is substantiated regarding the transition from the quantitative logic of reach to the qualitative logic of deep engagement, in which the effectiveness of communications is determined by the ability of brands and platforms to resonate with the multilayered identities, emotional scripts, and fandoms of the audience. In the domestic market, streaming is becoming the central core of the cultural, affective, and symbolic infrastructure.