Remember when you were young being asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Most replied with answers such as a doctor, astronaut, veterinarian, or firefighter. Nowadays, kids aspire to be an influencer or content creator. 

Compared to a typical 9 to 5 job, influencers have it easier than most because they make money just by creating content such as posting photos and videos. 

 A popular beauty influencer, Mikayla Nogueira, has been receiving backlash after videos have been resurfaced where she describes her daily routine. She gets up at 6 a.m. then spends about five to six hours filming videos, a few more editing, and she’s in meetings the rest of the day. “Try being an influencer for a day, try it because the people who say it’s easy are so far out of their minds. Try it for a day, it is not for everybody, in fact it’s for a very small handful of people who can do this job,” Nogueira said.

Sophie Rodriguez, a second year psychology major, stated, “ I’m not sure what a typical work day looks like for an influencer. However I can imagine that it would be challenging to live your life with a lens and thousands of eyes intently watching. We only see what is shared. Maybe we don’t always see or understand what hard work is.“ 

Influencers get paid depending on how many followers they have. As reported by Business Insider, an influencer with 275K followers made $700,000 just from brand deals in six months, another with a following ranging from 10K-100K earned six-figure salaries as full time creators, and one made about $5000 each month just from affiliate links. July 2021, Meta announced that it would invest over $1 billion in creators throughout 2022. 

People who decide to step into the social media world have the resources and can most likely afford the lifestyle and risks that come along with it. Many want to do this, but just simply don’t have the time or money to do so.

Being an influencer obviously has its perks, and the part where it gets difficult is the creative and privacy aspect. Maya Fiorella, an SSU graduate of Fall 2021 majoring in Communications with a minor in Business, is currently residing in Los Angeles where she is a pilates instructor at Equinox and lifestyle content creator.

Fiorella states, “Influencing is hard in the same way being an entrepreneur is hard, it pushes you creatively, but there are definitely a lot of privileges. You essentially make your own work schedule and can call out whenever you want.” She discusses that when you’re an influencer it never ends because your whole life can be turned into content making it difficult to learn how to set boundaries. 

A requirement to be an influencer is to be on top of the latest trends because it is so easy to fall behind with how fast the world is moving. Noel Rogel, a SSU senior majoring in Psychology works more than just a 9 to 5 job spending 16 hours at a hospital. He states, “The hospital is difficult mentally and emotionally, that’s its own realm, but being an influencer that’s ongoing.” 

Influencers have the advantage by choosing that lifestyle, but most don’t because they have to pick a job that makes the most money to provide for themselves or their family. 

Influencer Taraswrld expresses that she’s constantly productive, and that nowadays no one wants to work anymore. Ashlynn O’Dell, 21-year-old paramedic went viral after responding back explaining she works 24 hours straight, two days off and then working again. O’dell states, “You make my bi-weekly paycheck in two days from social media posts and brand deals. Have a good day and go look up what humble means.” 

There are many people who work not one, but two jobs just to make ends meet and for an influencer to disregard all of that is disrespectful because not everybody has the resources at their disposal.