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It may not be all that much fun and games.. Half a year ago I saw a documentary (can't remember which), where a number of popular YouTube vloggers were followe
by rapnie 8y ago
It may not be all that much fun and games..
Half a year ago I saw a documentary (can't remember which), where a number of popular YouTube vloggers were followed to see what being an influencer entails.
While each of them were enjoying the good stuff - the money earned, the free gadgets and trips, etc. - in general each of them also felt trapped. To me it seemed like hell to live a life like this.
Huge social pressure from followers to crank out new content on a continuous basis. No time to take real breaks, let alone a longer vacation. Totally focused on social metrics. A wrong move leading to loss of 1,000s of followers. A vacation or even being sick leads to people complaining in your feeds, or even starting to threaten you.
Responsibilities and contracts with influence marketers.
Being an influencer is a kind of topsport. You are a professional, while you are also still a kid.
And the longer you keep doing it, the more you've made a life's choice (neglecting school, building real social network, etc.) and it is harder to get out of it.
Edit: Oh, I forgot to mention that the real famous vloggers also can no longer come outside without being recognized everywhere. E.g. 16-20yr olds that cause young children to go histerical when they see them, giving signatures all the time. Literally no rest anywhere.
- rorykoehler 8y agoWith $22m in the bank he could give it all up at a drop of a hat, put it all into passive investments and live the life of a king off the proceeds.
- rapnie 8y agoSure. He can. He is already at the top. And his example will be the ultimate dream of many, with full support of (greedy?) parents. But your kid may not be all that lucky. It is a crowded market.
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y agoIt's very easy to blow $22m in a very short amount of time, especially with his teenage years not all that far ahead of him.
- rorykoehler 8y agoNot if you can't touch it
- zimpenfish 8y agoBear in mind that was $22M just for the last year - he made $11M in 2017 as well. Probably made a few $M in 2016 too.
- rapnie 8y agoAnd for each influencer there are tens of thousands of wannabe's, who are quietly churning on for just a handful of followers, but with the same grand dreams of fame and glory. If they get their real joy from this, then that it is okay. Otherwise at least they learn to handle disappointment early in life.
- grecy 8y agoOf course, going to a job for 40+ hours a week feels like being "trapped" to a lot of people. Especially when you throw in a Mortgage, car loan, student loan and some credit cards. At that point, it's impossible to stop going to work 40+ hours a week.