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[–] 53 points 1 year ago (12 children)

I heard someone talking about a content creator they watch, and how that creator basically can't take a vacation without losing tons of followers and potentially a major chunk of their income.

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  • [–] 43 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    A lot of creators will have a number of videos created ahead of time, so they can go on holiday and still have a steady release schedule.

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  • [–] 26 points 1 year ago* (3 children)

    Doesn't help if you're a streamer, though. I guess that was a part I left out, whoops -_-

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  • [+] 23 points 1 year ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 child)
  • It isn’t 8 hours of work and you’re done

    That really depends on the type of content. Something like LTT is very much 8 hours and you're done, except the handful of times when there's a time crunch (e.g. new hardware launch). Even smaller creators plan out videos in advance and can create a working schedule.

    The hardest part is starting out, followed by finding an audience. Once you get the audience, creating a consistent schedule is the easier part, especially once you can start hiring help.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    I hear this all the time but I struggle to see how it is true. How many people regularly trawl through their feed looking for creators who haven’t posted in X days and unfollowing them? It would be a minuscule number. I’m pretty darn selective with my follows and I think I’d do this once a year, tops.

    I think creators are conflating the everyday ups and downs of follower counts on their platform(s) as being something more. And I think the platforms themselves are encouraging this mentality because they need fresh content.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    As OP specified in another reply, they were talking about streamers specifically. And with them, big chunk of the income comes from Twitch subscribers, which is a monthly paid subscription. If you are willing to pay someone for it, you'll notice pretty much immediately if they miss their scheduled stream and cancel it.

    For many other platforms what you said is true, I'm way more likely to unsubscribe from someone when they post a video and remind me I'm still subbed than when they take a break and fade out of my feed.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago

    Just because you do something a certain way doesn't mean everyone does. A huge chunk of these peoples income comes from the random people who find their videos or streams because of the "algorithm". Not from their regular viewers. Those regular viewers allow for a certain amount of steadiness, but they're also more likely to watch videos at a later time rather than right when they're uploaded. Which is a significant drop in revenue for each view.

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    [+] 31 points 1 year ago (31 children)
  • [–] 12 points 1 year ago (30 children)

    Bonesmashing?! Just when I thought people couldn't get any stupider.

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  • [–] -5 points 1 year ago (29 children)

    You get this a joke?

    Children were never eating tide pods either.

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  • [+] 20 points 1 year ago (19 children)
  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago* (12 children)

    Did you see the part where only half of those ingestions were intentional?

    You would be freaking out about rainbow parties and snap bracelets in the 90s.

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  • [+] 4 points 1 year ago (9 children)
  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    Because it looks like candy. It feels like jelly. It's individually wrapped in clear plastic, just like candy

    Now, imagine someone leaves one of those on the counter, or in a random drawer. That's where loose candy lives.

    So of course other people, who maybe don't do laundry and don't often see tide pods, are going to go "oh, look, candy!"

    And then they call poison control as they retch and the cells in the mouth turn to soap, and they get added to the statistics

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (4 children)
  • [+] 6 points 1 year ago (3 children)
  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Did you know that cognitively delayed teenagers exist?

    Check real quick - I think “gullible” is written on your ceiling. Watch out, I hear human traffickers are putting fentanyl laced roses on car doors.

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  • [+] 2 points 1 year ago* (1 child)
  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    You're acting like the most "well acsually" person ever. You see the word "never" and don't understand that people routinely use this word colloquially not to literally mean "there was zero cases in history of humanity". Maybe they shouldn't do that, maybe people should use "almost never" to mean "almost never", but they aren't.
    If you want to engage with meaning of what the person you're arguing was saying, instead of hanging up on a technical usage of the word, their point was that sensationalist media and crazy usually religiously motivated groups love misunderstanding teenagers stupid humour, and making a big panic out of basically nothing. All the kids who really physically put tide pods in their mouths even for a second for a stupid video, can fit into one short bus. But the panic around it was so widespread, you could get an impression that everyone is popping them like tic tacs. That is a classic example of a moral panic.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    Out of tens of millions of children, that's nothing. It was pure fear mongering

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    It's both fear mongering and a problem. I imagine there are a lot more unreported cases, since teens are especially unlikely to ask for help with something like this. On the other hand, it was used as an excuse to attack TikTok, which is stupid because the similar things happen on other platforms and happened before everyone was on social media. Kids will do stupid things as long as peer pressure is a thing.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Your TikTok addiction may have turned you into a psychopath. "Kids die all the time, what's the big deal?"

    The gun rights crowd has better arguments about why their hobby is more important than kids dying.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (2 children)

    ? I've never used TikTok...

    But yes, kids die all the time for various reasons. When talking about individual causes, it's important to look at the impact on trends. Are more kids dying due to TikTok, or is TikTok merely replacing another cause?

    Obviously no death is acceptable, but death will happen. The role of public policy isn't to prevent all death, but to address the bulk of it with the least invasive policy possible.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Do you think lemmy sets public policy? The only thing that happens here is people comment on shit. So you're bothered by comments to the effect of "influencers tell kids to do stupid shit and sometimes kids die because of it, and this is bad."

    Why do you think that freedom of speech means no one is allowed to criticize speech? Criticism is also speech.

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  • I absolutely agree that criticism is speech and should absolutely be protected, even if the take doesn't have merit. And that's basically what I'm doing here, I'm criticizing the FUD against social media platforms like TikTok; yes they're bad, but not bad enough to curtail speech.

    And yes, Lemmy doesn't set policy, but voters elect reps who do, and there are a lot of voters here. That's why I bother discussing politics at all, in the hope that maybe someone will consider what I have to say the next time they cast their ballot. Who knows, maybe I'll persuade someone that freedom is worth more than protectionism, probably not, but I'm not doing much else while sitting on the toilet.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    Well maybe they weren't at first. Just like flat earthers and bird aren't real started as jokes. People started seeing and acting. My niblings had a kid in their high school eat tasted and spit out a tide pod. They ended up going home early.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Like all horrible male "beauty trends" it comes from looksmaxxing forums where it was a joke but the people were highly autistic and actually did it. The same thing happens when it gets to tiktok. A bunch of people post about it knowing its a joke and people who struggle to understand its a joke get sucked in.

    To "normal" people its like yeah obviously this is stupid, but to someone whos extremely socially inept they view it as a real path to looking like that. I've not met someone who has done this one exactly but ive met people who have done insanely destructive things because of what they saw on the internet.

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  • [+] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)
  • [–] 12 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Bro - I was literally a fucking teacher during the peak of that moral panic. I spend more time every day with teenagers than half of you on this thread do. Every kid knew it was a fucking joke. A handful of children actually did it on purpose, and like every moral outrage/hysteria it became “teens are doing this wild crazy thing!”

    Yes, teenagers do dumb fucking shit all of the time. It’s not the shit the media picks up on for the viral clicks.

    The real shit teens are actually doing is vaping shady carts and creating massive group chats to bully each other with naked pictures. But that doesn’t sell the same kinds of ad impressions as “there’s a stupid TikTok video that when viral so we are going to assume this is a massive regular thing that hundreds of children are doing.” Talking about those issues involves parents having to, you know, parent but instead it’s gotta be about stupid shit.

    The real “hiding under a rock” is being distracted by the newest stupid TikTok video instead of dealing with the things teenagers actually do.

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  • [–] 66 points 1 year ago* (2 children)

    My lord the amount of “I have a REAL job” in here is too damn high. I work 8 hours a night, 40+ hours a week, in an automotive plant. My job can be very stressful, and physically demanding. So what?

    I don’t sit here and whine about people that stare at their screens (IT, developers, etc) all day. Are they really doing any work? After all, they are not performing physical labor.

    How is it that different for people who create content? I’d argue that they do more work, as they have to set up, film, edit and market their work.

    See how silly this sounds? A job is a job. Unless you own your own business, you are making money for someone else.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago* (1 child)

    You aren't wrong. But being a social media influencer is something almost no one would accidentally fall into. People who do it intentionally are doing it to chase a dream of fame and fortune and glamor - but because there is a limited amount of attention in the world and it is highly concentrated, you are really rolling the dice on a dream if you decide to commit to it. There is a very high probability that even if you put your whole heart and soul into it and did everything perfectly, you will still never achieve much more financial success than a child's lemonade stand.

    It's basically the same thing as wanting to be a blockbuster film actor or a rock star or an NBA player. If you are struggling and unsuccessful... Well yeah, that's exactly what everyone told you would happen. Go get a different job. And if you are successful and famous and making tons of money - "oh no, boohoo, it must be so hard to be successful beyond your wildest dreams."

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  • Maybe for the top tier influencers, but there are a ton of people making a reasonable living just by doing it what they enjoy. For example, strategy game streamers:

    • FlorryWorry is probably the most popular EU4 streamer and has won the tournament something like 7-years straight; he makes enough to go full time
    • NumotTheNummy is perhaps the best MtG Arena draft streamer, and has tons of subscribers (LSV honorary mention, who got famous for being a top-tier MtG pro tour competitor)
    • Hikaru Nakamura - #2 chess player in the world, has a very healthy following

    There are plenty more who are popular because of their skill at what they stream about and are competent enough at keeping people's attention. If you're the best, people will come to you, it's not always just luck. A lot of people get there through luck, but a lot earn their way too.

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  • [–] 29 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    I’m so glad I was young before this stupid reality happened. I have a regular job and no desire for internet fame.

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  • [–] 13 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Funny. I follow some creators, but if they don't post I'll just check back later, and the content will still be relevant.

    If your followers just leave you if you don't post, your content is probably shallow and doesn't really add much value to the world.

    The algorithm is also fucked, but you use it to your advantage when you can, so can you really complain about the downside? This is what you choose to work with.

    That being said, making good content is hard and really time consuming. So I get that there is stress.

    But I believe if you make good solid content that suits you and your style, you don't need to get into a pissing contest with the algorithm. Upload when you want, make what you want and you will attract viewers. They are out there, and they will find you through searching.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    Yeah most of the content I watch is still useful years later. Now it may not be super current since tech changes so fast, but still useful. If you have to stay in someone’s face all the time to stay memorable, you’re not memorable or relevant.

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  • [–] 16 points 1 year ago*

    You can't pause the internet

    Something I had to tell my mom all the time.

    "Pause your damn game!"

    "Its online, I can't pause it!"

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  • [–] 19 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    I imagine that being a content creator as a full-time job is much more difficult than most people realize. Also, the modern work environment is a hellscape, and I can’t blame people who want to avoid it. Still, it’s risky as hell - if the platform you rely on changes its compensation policies, you are screwed, and have even less legal protection/recourse than a McDonalds employee.

    I wouldn’t expect a responsible person to take on that level of risk without a safety net. If you’re young and childless, then taking that risk is your call, and it’s unfair for me to judge you. If you’re relying on social media to pay the mortgage for your child’s home, though, you’d better have a backup plan and keep it ready.

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  • [–] 12 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Won't someone think of the poor influencers!? Sorry, "creators". Just like Van Gogh and Stanley Kubrick.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago

    If your audience will disappear because you go away for 5 minutes you were probably not providing anything of value in the first place

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago

    Cool, I have workplace stress and complete fatigue from sitting in an office dealing with bullshit all day and I don't get paid millions fucking around on YouTube and tiktok. You can't pause any job. Stfu

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  • [–] 75 points 1 year ago (9 children)

    Boo hoo, losers. Your device has a power switch. Influencers have a warped and inflated sense of the value they create. They can stop at any time and use their skills in other ways.

    Making good content is hard, but ‘good’ content doesn’t have an expiration date. Shallow brain-rot content does and that’s what the algorithms reward.

    The entitlement that influencers have is nauseating. There are many creators out there laboring in near obscurity and producing useful content all the time for little or no compensation.

    They are tools for Zuck and fools for propping his platforms up. It sounds like a hard slog, but they can stop any time.

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  • [–] 52 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    You're making enemies of your own team. These people are creatives, doing a job they love, and a corporate algorithm forces them to destroy their work life balance to keep doing what they love. And you're belittling them. You need a reality check, these people are not your enemy.

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  • [+] -20 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Nah, if you are feeding the Zuck, not my team. The principled creatives aren’t there.

    It sucks to try to make a living as a creative. But giving your efforts to support social media platforms controlled by the worst people is inexcusable. Zuck literally and provably helped the fascists gain power.

    The creatives I can respect create because they are compelled to. They work jobs and create when they can. They share their work on less shitty platforms and in actual real life.

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  • [–] 17 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Facebook isn't the only site these people use...

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  • [+] -12 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Zuck owns more than Facebook, too. ANY big social media platform is similarly toxic.

    These people have co-opted our social discourse for evil causes. And they aren’t the only way to share work online.

    Creative people do not have a right to my admiration if they provide fresh bait that the oligarchs use to degrade democracy and civil society

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  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago

    The question isn't about admiration, it's about considering them worthy of being respected as fellow human beings who are also struggling. You're just shitting on them because the way they make their living is more directly linkable to sources you don't like.

    Every job is going to be that way, one way or another. Even many charities will have shady ties somewhere, that most of the volunteers and employees don't know shit about. Shitting on these people because you don't respect the things they're linked to, and ultimately have no control over, is petty and meaningless. It devalues them as humans, and as much as I'm sure you don't think so, they're still human. And deserve to be treated as such.

    If they're like the Pauls or something, I can see criticizing them for being shitty people... but that's not what you're doing, you're shitting on them for being part of a system that exists whether they make use of it or not. And will continue to exist whether they use it or not.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago

    but ‘good’ content doesn’t have an expiration date.

    Yes, it does, depending on the topic. If it's video games, like with MOBAs that get updated regularly, all the content for that patch expires after two weeks. Itemization and champion builds change so much that whatever value there was for you to build similarly is lost, and you're left with a mildly amusing thing about how something used to be.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    Yeah sheez. You know what you can’t pause? The flow of customers into the drive through. Internet influencers work on their own clock.

    Let’s get an article about fast food worker burnout please.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago*

    Do creative people have viable paths to income that aren’t social media?

    How does one survive as an artist or a small film maker, when there is no patronage, government funding for museums is constantly on the chopping block, and any form of art you make is going to be uploaded whether you like it or not?

    Our society essentially has no paths to success for creative types other than social media - especially with C-suites deciding that they’d rather use the plagiarism machine to make slop than hire actual content makers and artists?

    Making things like clip art used to be a job. You used to be able to paint signs. There was work for mid level artists. Now, your options are trying to go viral on social media/hunt for commissions.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    first of all these people are basicly making others buy crap they dont really want. second: this is just an article about young workers, who work too much and cant seperate their private life from worklife. could have been an insightful newspiece if it werent for guardian and the usual forced buzzwords.

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago

    I think they should stop.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago

    only use things with pause buttons!

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  • [–] 17 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    You can't turn off any job. We all are burning out in this bitch. At least you're sitting at home making videos.

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  • Okay, not sure how much this matters considering where the world is heading, but:

    If they can't get better working conditions because you'll complain (it's not fair, yadda yadda), how will you get better working conditions when they complain (it's not fair, yadda yadda)?

    I'm just saying, if you're not willing to play ball, why should I care about your sick pay?

    Medicaid is gonna burn up soon. Should I be concerned that you'll be losing coverage, or are we just fully on board with this petty individualism?

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  • [+] 35 points 1 year ago (16 children)
  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago (13 children)

    This is the most boomer take I've ever seen on this website. And that includes what few conservatives have filtered in.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (2 children)

    yeah I'm pretty shocked that a socialist website would value labor over entertainment like that

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    Socialism is about more than unions, that's just the most obvious aspect in a heavily capitalist society. It's about the sharing of burdens, which includes more than physical labor.

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  • [+] -5 points 1 year ago (10 children)
  • [–] 13 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    By that metric do authors or poets or actors create a physical product? Do computer programers? Since the death of physical media, books and art are now far more frequently digital than paper or canvas. Applications and software is 100% digital. Newspapers are dead, so journalists don't create a physical product. Is your argument that only physical labor producing physical things is "real" work?

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  • [+] -3 points 1 year ago (3 children)
  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Why won't you feel sympathy for someone who's hurting? Why do you feel that someone needs to fall into a very narrow category to be "worth your time"?

    Just because someone doesn't fall into your narrow view of what's worthwhile doesn't mean they're not worth basic human compassion.

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  • [+] -3 points 1 year ago (1 child)
  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago

    I just don’t understand their desire to be the center of attention

    There is that aspect of it, but there's also the aspect of writing your own destiny, about creating something you care about instead of just being a nameless cog in an industrial machine putting out consumerist crap day in and day out. Why is the latter more admirable to you than the former?

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    It doesn't come across as you appreciating value in artistic expression and other intangibles when you say "suck it up and get a real job". That may not have been your intention, but it can definitely be read that way. I think that is the "boomer" people have commented on.

    I don't think there are really that many people who think social media creators or better than farmers or essential services personnel, and those that do are completely out of touch, but there are plenty of people who see alternative media creators as less than any other job. I personally think A-list actors, celebrities and sports professionals are no better than grocery store worker or warehouse person, but I won't deny they work just as hard in different ways.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    Just keeping up with the boomer takes...

    Something doesn't need to be a physical product to hold tangible value.

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  • [+] -2 points 1 year ago (5 children)
  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Also, you didn’t choose to share your profession with us. It makes me think that you’re attempting to create a social media presence of your own.

    Either that or I don't think value is only subjective to what you do for a living. That my opinion is somehow less valuable because I don't fall into a specific field you perceive as valuable.

    I’m just saying that without those who work in physical reality, creating tangibles with tangible things, make the mental edifices possible.

    And often those non-tangible things help to give those who make the tangible things the willpower to go on. It's not a one way street, where value is only created by those who create tangible goods and stolen by the intangible. That's a very pessimistic, if not "holier-than-thou" perspective. As though anyone who doesn't do what you respect isn't worth as much as someone who does.

    Like I said, a very boomer attitude.

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  • [+] 0 points 1 year ago (4 children)
  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    What business is it of yours who I voted for? I even voted for Musk, so what?

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  • [+] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)
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