You’re right, it’s the same as the lonely people being exploited by Twitch streamers or YT creators.
There’s a point it goes from “supporting a creator” to “throwing money at someone so they acknowledge your existence and you feel validated”.
Honestly part of the reason I stopped watching twitch, it’s just sad at a certain point as these people think they’re actually friends with the creator, rather than just enjoying the stream for what it is.
The whole donation/sub part of twitch culture is disgusting imo.