You may have heard the term “Get Ready with Me,” often conveniently abbreviated as GRWM, or even seen it amongst a hashtag on TikTok or Instagram. All you need is three to five minutes of content, a couple trendy products, a charming attitude, and boom- you may have just launched your own digital empire.
Generation Z is redefining “career.” Traditional jobs are no longer at the forefront of a teenager’s mind. According to a survey of 1,000 members of Generation Z conducted by Morning Consult in 2023, 57% stated that if they could choose their career, they would pick influencer.
Since then, the numbers have only increased.
Teenagers are encapsulated by the idea of fame and having an audience that worships their perfectly-curated online presence. Having adorning fans and abundant likes and comments, however, isn’t the only draw. Social media has convinced teens that they can make an extremely comfortable living through content creation. Nonetheless, this isn’t always the case.
According to PYMNTS, a 2023 study showed that 48% of social media influencers made just $15,000 per year, significantly less than the average salary in the United States, and certainly not a comfortable living.
The truth is, most aspiring teenage influencers don’t realize that it takes extremely hard work to succeed on social media – content creators must be posting quality, engaging content multiple times a day, examining analytics for trends, and overall, working hard – just as much as you would in a “real job.”
In addition to the hard work one must put in to earn a sufficient living as a content creator, the profession comes with many tribulations. Influencers face many mental health challenges, as their work is centered around being in the public eye. Whether or not their content is “successful” and the amount of commission they receive on a certain piece of content is determined by the number of likes they get.
This can reduce a person to something so insignificant, which, as you can imagine, can make one feel worthless. Similarly, content creators are constantly subjected to scrutiny from both people they know in person and people who engage with their content online, which puts them in a vulnerable position.
So, is “influencing” really all it’s cracked up to be? Content creation can be a great career path for some individuals, as it provides creators with a platform to express their unique ideas and share them with the world. However, it is important to note the potential downfalls of influencer culture. While it may seem like an easy, glamorous way to be in the spotlight and make money, it requires hard work to succeed in the way many top influencers are.
These influencers are exposed to intense, harsh critiques from the public and withstand mental health challenges on a daily basis.
The next time you think about posting that TikTok video, ask yourself if it’s the right decision for you.
