A few months ago, when he seemed to be at the height of his career on social networks, actor and comedian Brody Wellmaker announced that he was taking a break from Tik Tok. The one who made himself known on the short video platform during confinement, announced at the end of August to his 21 million fans that he was leaving social networks to preserve his mental health. “To anyone who wants to be a content creator, I have three pieces of advice: First, these platforms don’t care about you. The content that you create, that you consume, is just a way for them to make money. Next, be careful who you work with. People will tell you that they believe in you, that they want to see you succeed. But they just want to use you,” he explained. He is not the only one to have shared his malaise linked to his profession, shaped by social networks: from the youtuber Enjoy Phoenix to several streamers on Twitch, via the influencer Léna Situations, the world of creation content is not all rosy.
Behind the smooth image presented on the screens, there is a still recent profession, which is struggling to be taken seriously. “There is a very controversial vision of content creators, especially influencers: we have this image of the billboard and at the same time, it makes you dream, we think it’s an easy job” says Solweig Mary, strategy consultant of social networks and founder of the Digitalis agency. “There is a difference between content thought of as legitimate (popularization, fiction) and the others. And then we always despise the new platforms, like Tik Tok, even within the creation of content” indicates Bastien Louessard, lecturer at the University of Paris 13. Thus, if creators present on YouTube are fairly well established, those from Tik Tok play a little more like a tightrope walker. “It’s a brand new job, and I think most don’t understand it, even if it’s changing,” explains Mr. Thomas, who has 1.3 million subscribers on Tik Tok for videos where he “passes messages while eating”.
On the edge of algorithms
Solweig Mary reminds us: “Those who can live from it, it does not even represent 1%”. Most content creators do not live exclusively from platforms, but combine activities, between business creation and product placements. “They cannot depend solely on the monetization of the platform: Youtubers have migrated to Twitch, Instagrammers to Tik Tok,” adds Solweig Mary. In short, you have to diversify and not put all your eggs on the same platform. Before embarking on the adventure of full-time social networks, Mr. Thomas was a store manager: it was in his break room that he started his videos. “When I left my job, I had 800,000 subscribers, it was still wobbly. And there was this stress factor: will subscribers follow me on this new adventure? Today, at over a million, it’s a little more stable. But I know that overnight, everything can stop,” he says.
The financial instability of those who dream of having several million subscribers develops a fear of tomorrow. “It’s a lot due to the platforms, to their number, to changes in algorithms. The slightest change in the rules, the mode of financing, the algorithm, it is a whole model that risks collapsing” explains Bastien Louessard. So, when Instagram decides to bet more on short videos rather than photos, the creators of photo content toast. In addition, the number of platforms is increasing, and now it seems impossible not to link a Tik Tok account to your Instagram, Twitter, etc. account. “One of the reasons for the crack is that the platforms value the actors who will make content every day, who are permanently present” adds Bastien Louessard. Before he made it his full-time job, Mr. Thomas got up at dawn to read and respond to his comments, and finished editing his videos until late at night. “If you want to do things well, it takes time,” he insists.
shooting star syndrome
The virality inherent in new platforms like Tik Tok, which play on an ultra-sharp recommendation algorithm, can propel some amateur content creators to the rank of superstars in a few hours. An often ephemeral title, and which can create a shock for those who live it. “I had a lot of trouble getting used to it. I am agoraphobic, and if there is a movement of crowd because I am recognized, it is complicated to manage. In addition, I find that on social networks, we are starred when in itself, I am not Rihanna or Beyoncé ”explains Mr. Thomas.
Added to all this is the incessant criticism and cyberbullying that women content creators in particular can suffer. Léna Situations thus explains in her video at the end of July that beyond the insulting comments, some went to threaten her family and loved ones. “I think cyberbullying is something that’s underestimated by a lot of creators who get started without having the keys. There are real dangers behind it that go beyond the internet, and that affect privacy,” insists Solweig Mary. Mr. Thomas, meanwhile, has learned to read comments less to protect himself. “There’s this discourse that says ‘you’re exposing yourself so you have to take the criticism. Accept criticism, ok. But not the death threats! “.
But what are the platforms doing?
If Mr. Thomas considers that he “has no reason to complain”, he explains that many people consider his job to be “easy”. “If it’s that easy, do it!” I think there’s a lot of jealousy because we live from our passion,” he adds. Content creators, like all artistic and cultural professions, suffer from the cliché around the profession of passion. It’s the famous adage: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”. Which is false, according to Bastien Louessard: “These professions are under strong image pressure, it is a very competitive environment, and where algorithms and statistics rule the roost”. These algorithms and these platforms are also highly criticized by content creators, who denounce the lack of communication and tools put in place to protect creators.
This is particularly the case on the question of moderation, requested for years by content creators. “We have seen it on several occasions, moderation is complex because we are dealing with transnational players, such as Google or Instagram” indicates Bastien Louessard. “There is no way to contact Tik Tok if you are not certified by the platform, for example, in the case of skipping videos,” sighs Mr. Thomas. The Chinese platform seems overwhelmed by its own success, since its explosion during the 2020 confinements. For Solweig Mary, the initiatives put in place in terms of protection are aimed more at users than at creators. “Nevertheless, we have a few scattered initiatives, but which do not come from the platforms. For example, the ARPP (Professional Advertising Regulatory Authority) has created a Responsible Influence Observatory,” she says. A small step at the national level, especially after a summer of controversy over influencers from Magali Berdah’s agency and the dissemination of the Complément d’Enquête. But nothing that focuses on the mental health of content creators and on the functioning of this new algorithmic business: they find themselves left to their own devices.