Should social media influencer be considered a job?
NO- Ileana de la Cerda (Staff Writer)
In this day and age, kids have stopped wanting to become firefighters and doctors and have started to look up to Twitch streamers and get-ready-with-me TikTokers. The gaming addicts and teenagers that fit today's beauty standards ridiculously well have, in these kids eyes, become more important than people who devote their lives to saving others. Of course, not every kid dreams of having a career as demanding and directly impactful as one on the frontlines, but they’re losing sight of the people who should be idolized the most.
On a technicality, sure, being a social media influencer is a job. Work, no matter the amount, is put in and as a result, money is made. But to genuinely consider it as a job is a punch in the face to those who work so much harder than someone who wakes up at noon and films themselves eating.
Influencers make their own hours, can take days off whenever they want, don’t have a traditional boss of any sort and get to upload from the comfort of their own homes. They get to choose what they do and when they do it and most of the time, it’s incredibly fun things that anyone would kill to do on a random day out of the week. If the “job” is this flexible, this insanely easy and free, why consider it one?
Art by Sara Polster
It’s true that fame doesn’t always happen overnight, in fact, it’s pretty rare for that to happen. Influencers often speak about having to consistently upload videos for months or years to see their view count come close to reaching 100. But, I’m certain that even with my pile of work I am left with on a daily basis, I could still make time to upload a video or two every day. If it’s that easy, that’s saying something.
According to economist.com, a pollster by the name of Morning Consult reported that 57 percent of Gen Z Americans would like to be social media influencers. The high percentage suggests a perception from the surveyees that becoming an influencer is easily attainable. This indicates that many see it as a straightforward route to fame and steady income. This is likely fueled by the seemingly effortless success stories portrayed on social media, leading to an oversimplified view of what it takes to become a successful influencer.
Though there are a lot of content creators who make videos purely for fun and the entertainment of others, there are more significant pages that do deserve a bigger spotlight. These are the ones that help their community and show the internet how good it can feel to lend a hand to those in need. For instance, those who make videos feeding the homeless and cleaning people’s houses or mowing lawns for free. This does send a great message and can inspire people to do the same. But even then, it’s not a job. These people are lucky enough to have their platforms take off and to be able to make the time and money to give back to the community so greatly. They are lucky to fulfill this role.
My mother, on the average day, wakes up at 3:30 a.m. and doesn’t get home until around 5:30 p.m.. With her being a hemodialysis technician, she gives another day of life to patients every day that she shows up to work, delivering clean, new blood to those who can’t make it themselves. That, to me, simply cannot be on the same level as a content creator.
Although the initial fame isn’t always handed to them, the brand deals, acting and modeling opportunities and gorgeous vacation getaways definitely are. It happens too often that an influencer is given a chance like this just because companies want to appeal to a younger, more hip audience. Commonly, a lot of backlash is received because there are other people, not social-media influencers, that would be much more suited for the job.
Influencers, as alluring as becoming one may be, diminish the importance of tangible skills. The decrease in people wanting to do hard work shows a diversion from traditional career paths and, unfortunately, a disheartening inclination to offer less to society. So, while influencing can generate a continual income, its lack of structure and contribution deems it unfit to be considered a legitimate profession.
YES- Kira Willinger (Staff Writer)
With our society revolving more and more around social media in recent years, people don’t just see social media as a mindless form of entertainment anymore, but also as a career opportunity. Living in Los Angeles, I can confidently say it’s the hub of influencers. Influencers constantly surround us, dedicating their whole lives to their followings and videos. But does being an influencer truly count as a job? The answer to this is yes.
An influencer is a person who regularly makes and posts content on social media platforms, while promoting a product or service. A successful influencer will have a large following, with up to hundreds of millions of followers. They will also receive money through their platform, ranging from 50 dollars to over a million dollars per post based on the amount of followers they have and what brand deal the video is for. Many act as marketers for certain brands, like Katie Fang, who has had numerous successful brand deals, such as the skincare lines Glow Recipe and Cetaphil.
But why do people not see influencing as a real career? Many view influencers as uneducated individuals with no real credentials, thinking they don’t have to put any work in to gain their career. Another assumption is that all influencers are privileged and entitled, which raises the question of why influencers deserve any credit for their work.
Art by Sara Polster
Contrary to assumptions, various influencers are indeed educated, with degrees in marketing, communications, science and more. Moreover, the content influencers post moves beyond just ‘get-ready-with-me’ videos, with many influencers focusing on educational content. Alakh Pandey, the ‘Physics Wallah,’ is an exceptional science and math tutor with a following of 13.9 million subscribers on YouTube. Additionally, global-sensation, Ms. Rachel (Rachel Griffin-Accurso), is a famous influencer who has 17.8 million subscribers on YouTube. She helps with early child development by teaching speaking, language and social-emotional skills through fun games and nursery rhymes. These influencers are helping students and parents all over the world by providing useful educational videos that genuinely do have an impact on society.
While being an influencer is certainly very picturesque, it isn’t all glamour and doesn’t come easily– influencers have to work for years to build up their following. They have to consistently post videos, sometimes twice or three times a day and thoroughly edit them, taking hours. It took Alix Earle, for example, three years of consistent creating and posting content to make it big–but can take even above 10 years, the time it would take for someone to go through medical school or law school. It’s usually not an overnight success.
As well, many influencers are only trying to support their families, just like any other worker. Being an influencer doesn’t automatically imply someone is rich, and that’s normally not the case at all. Many have it engraved in their minds to hate the rich, desensitized people they see online, which is completely valid, but unfair for influencers who genuinely do come from humble backgrounds and are just trying to make ends meet in a way that is most suitable for them. Not enough people take into consideration how being an influencer is a spectacular opportunity for stay-at-home or single parents who are able to support their children financially while staying home with them and in turn saving money on daycare or babysitters.
Now, by saying that being an influencer is a job, I’m not stating that influencers work just as hard as a nurse or a firefighter, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t earn any respect. With that logic, you could also say that being a cashier isn’t a real job, because “they don’t work as long or as hard as a surgeon!” Just because the job isn’t respected doesn’t mean it’s not a true job. If being an influencer is the best option for someone, whether it’s to earn fame, support a family or has just been a lifelong dream, I say do it. The job of being an influencer is on an imminent rise, whether people like it or not and it provides great opportunities of flexibility, wealth and fame in our modern society.