5 Dark Facts about Content Creators / Social Media Influencers

Work Skills January 11, 2024

Content creation has become one of the easiest ways of earning money. While many good creators indeed come up with some fantastic and creative presentations many times the content is reused, distasteful, and repetitive. Just by changing a few words or highlighting the controversial part headlines are created so that the viewers are tempted to go through the entire content.

Content creation is a skill but…

Creating good or quality content needs a lot of effort. You have to be innovative to create something novel that has not appeared on the web as of yet. Importantly, as a content creator, you also influence the mindset of the viewers and social media users. So what you create and how you present your content have a lot of repercussions.

Nowadays, both morality and ethics are compromised to ensure that the post gets a lot of views or that the followers of social media influencers increase rapidly. It is where things start going wrong.

A handful of YouTubers seem to be influencing young minds. These social media influencers are inspiring the young generation to take up content creation as a profession. More and more youngsters are choosing this career path which has ample scope but very few people can become successful enough to maintain a decent lifestyle.

Those who highlight their luxurious abodes and automobiles on their channels do not share the dark truth that if the content fails to attract the expected number of views you are left with no earning option. Importantly it is not about just making reels or videos or sharing. The entire gamut requires a big team and a huge investment if you want to become successful.

Thus there is a lot of instability and unpredictability in this profession which is not discussed candidly on most of the platforms.

1. Creative labour is undervalued most of the time

Poor pay transparency and lack of knowledge about the industry standards lead to creative labour getting undervalued. More often social media influencers are forced to determine their value and fees and new joiners or those with less experience in the field end up working almost for free or peanuts.

Although the social media platforms offer their canvas for the influencers and creators to earn money, the entire power as well as the content remains with the platform owners. The YouTubers or the content creators have to accept the terms and conditions of such platforms and give in to their ever-changing demands of algorithms and valuation to get payment.

3. Affects mental health

Only the bright side of the content creators is visible to the audience. However, it takes them hours of effort and investment to impress the audience and make them cry or laugh. This impact is possible only after they unrelentingly work for hours together to put creative content out there.

And all this they do with the earnest hope of getting good views and earning big. But when the creation fails to live up to the expectations it can have a devastating impact on the mind of the creator.

Recommended: 8 Ways to Boost Your Mental Health

4. Facing negative reactions and trolling

Whatever content you produce, is going to trigger some type of reaction. If it is positive you are encouraged to come up with better content. But more often you have to face negative reactions and trolling and at times it can affect you very badly. Some types of content even trigger controversies that keep on hampering your life for years to come.

While it is a way of earning for the creators, for the users it is a means of learning, staying informed, and entertaining themselves. More often it leads to social media addiction among people. In the times when health experts are recommending their patients to reduce screen time, addiction to social media platforms among both young and older lot is a matter of concern.