BabyChat is used to represent immature, childish, or naive typing behavior in chat. It's commonly deployed when someone is acting childishly, making elementary arguments, typing in an unsophisticated manner, or when the chat itself is behaving in a particularly juvenile way. The emote can be self-deprecating (admitting one's own childish behavior) or used to mock others who are perceived as being immature or making simplistic arguments. It's essentially saying 'this is baby-level discourse' or 'we're all just babies typing away.'
Origin
BabyChat is a 7TV emote that originated around 2021-2022. It features an image of a baby's face superimposed over a keyboard, creating a humorous visual representation of someone typing. The emote is part of the broader family of 'Chat' emotes on Twitch and 7TV that depict various characters or figures typing on keyboards. The baby image used in this emote has become a popular reaction image across internet culture, and its adaptation into a typing emote format made it particularly suitable for Twitch chat usage.
When to use
When chat devolves into spam or childish behavior
In response to someone making an overly simplistic or naive take
During moments of collective immaturity in chat
When viewers are typing obvious or elementary observations
As self-aware commentary when the community acknowledges they're being childish
In response to basic questions or statements that seem immature
During playful banter where chatters are acting silly or unsophisticated
