Is it more difficult to develop content for a social media outlet like TikTok or have a daily job that requires people to get up in the morning and report for work? Interviewing creators at the 2024 TikTok awards in Australia, News.com.au found that many TikTok creators say their job is harder.
Anna Paul (@anna..paull) posts her life online every day to her 7.2 million followers. She didn’t think this was how her career would progress. “Before TikTok, I was a YouTuber but before that, I was a ‘checkout chick’ at Woolies for five years,” she said. “Mentally, being a content creator is way harder, because you have to deal with the judgment. But physically, standing for hours and hours and hours at the register is so hard.”
Ariella Nyssa (@ariellanyssa), who posts body positivity content to her 1.7 million followers, previously studied to work as a teacher and also worked as a dental nurse before TikTok. "I was a dental nurse once upon a time, too, I actually loved it. I think each one has different hards so you have to choose your hard. Influencing and TikTok is so rewarding. I love it and being able to help people, but there are also a lot of down days when you get a lot of hate."
Indy Clinton (@indyclinton), a mother of three, has two million followers but has never known the daily grind of going to the office. "I never had a 9-to-5. I have been in this whole social media world since I was 16 years old, I am 27, so 11 years,” she said. “I was on Instagram a lot before TikTok … I was the quintessential Aussie girl, I surfed, I posted photos of shells I found on the beach and smoothies. When TikTok launched, I evolved, popped out a few babies, and showed the chaos of motherhood."
With 7.6 million followers, Robert Irwin (@robertirwin) is a conservationist and the son of famed Australian zookeeper and personality Steve Irwin who says he attempts to combine his regular job with with TikTok responsibilities. "They’re interconnected. If I’m out there and am about to go rescue a snake, I just set my camera up and film it and put it on TikTok."
“I try and keep it really run-and-gun and here, there and everywhere – the TikTok is just kind of part of it. “Anyone I’m with, I’m like, ‘Here, film this, I’m going to do something crazy’, and hopefully it’s a bit of inspiration for people to live life to the fullest and try and give back to our natural world," he told The Post.
TikTok might not even be accessible to Americans due to national security concerns about its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. The Biden administration signed a law that demands ByteDance divest its US operations by January 19 or its operations will be terminated in America. TikTok has filed suit against that decision, saying it violates First Amendment rights.
