A new era for the entertainment industry.
Think back to when you were little and someone asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up. Did you ever say an actor/actress? What about a pop/rockstar? Even better, did you just flat out say “I want to be famous”?
There’s nothing wrong with that, and in today’s times with the avenue of the internet and sights like youtube, twitch, TikTok, and beyond going “viral” is easier than ever. In fact, in this age of the internet more and more people are finding professions on social media or through being an “influencer” because of all the platforms available to them and how easy nowadays it is to amass a dedicated following — be it through niche content or by simply being attractive.
Think about it, what other career would permit a boy to have a net worth of $32 Million by the time he was nine. The internet has evolved people’s sense of a career and thus gave people a way to achieve that childhood aspiration of fame in a much simpler way than having to “make it big in Hollywood”.
“The internet, in promising a potentially unlimited audience, began to seem like the natural home of self-expression.” — Jia Tolentino
One of the main reasons that so many teenagers and young adults find platforms like Twitch, Tiktok, Youtube, etc. so enticing to start careers on is that they view it as an easy way to make money and “blow up” without having to put too much effort in. For example, Charli Demillo. In her first two years on the TikTok platform not only did she become the first person to reach 50 million subscribers, but she doubled it to be the first creator to reach 100 million subscribers. There are more people subscribed to this 17-year-old girl than there were people that lived in the United Kingdom in 2020.
But Demellio is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to these young mega-famous social media stars that kids dream of being. It is in all aspects of life too from twitch streamers like Thomas Simons, aka TommyInnit, who holds two Guinness World Records he got from streaming to people like Coco PinkPrincess who is 11 years old and an Instagram fashion icon from Japan with over 589K on Instagram and has been nominated for awards like “Instagrammer of the year” even before she hit her teenage years.
With role models like these, who get to rub elbows with the traditionally famous while also getting to cultivate a mass following on the platforms of their choice it’s hard for those growing up to not see this line of work as the “dream life.” Through the eyes of the impressionable youth, these kids around their age are getting to goof off and be themselves and they are getting partnered with world-renowned franchises like Dunkin’ Doughnuts or Samsung to do massive brand deals.
But unlike an actor who plays a role on screen or a singer who does their performance before bowing out gracefully- these influencers are grounded in their online personas. Their viewers have followed or subscribed for that version of the person and that is who they want to see. In a way — they never want these online personalities to “turn off” and it is up to the individual to keep up the facade for public entertainment. And because social media is so flexible, Interactive, and constant they want their media/content and they want it readily available away.
As society is ever-evolving so are the tools and opportunities at our disposal. The transition from web 1.0 to web 2.0 has cracked that door open to allow tech-savvy and social media gurus to thrive leaving only one question — when this generation is my age, what will the digital landscape look like then?
