I attend James Madison College in Harrisonburg, Virginia. With greater than 20,000 undergraduate college students, simply think about a typical U.S. college, and that’s JMU. There’s Greek life, soccer in fact, many golf equipment and organizations to affix, an array of majors, and a really completely happy and welcoming ambiance. With social media at an all-time excessive, we’re seeing a a lot bigger inhabitants of on a regular basis folks turning into social media influencers.
I’ve been a advertising/communications intern with Discover Your Affect since January and coincidentally, as a author for a student-run life-style journal, I used to be given the chance to interview 5 college students who’re thought-about social media influencers at JMU. My purpose was to achieve a greater understanding of what the influencing world was actually like for younger school college students. I wished to unlock the reality; the great, the unhealthy, and the ugly of the influencing world. I wished to get a greater sense of how these college students stability being influencers whereas nonetheless making an attempt to have a traditional school expertise.
Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and the ever so addictive app, TikTok, have taken the world by storm. We scroll for hours till the blue gentle, illuminating from our smartphones, in the end exhausts our eyes. 5-minute break; time to scroll once more.
Social media influencers have develop into a rising phenomenon. Influencer tradition has exuded a pristine picture of perfection. It has develop into the life that the majority adolescents envy; model offers, sponsorships, cash, fame and followers. Seems like the last word dream, proper? However what about what’s behind the digicam? What about what’s off display screen? The time, power, tears shed, self-shame, demise threats, humiliation. Welcome to the not-so-perfect facet of being a publicized punching bag.
Megan James | 604.3K on TikTok
What do you do as an influencer?
“I do your relatable sort of content material on TikTok, trend content material on Instagram and work for Snapchat by posting movies on their Highlight Function daily.”
Do you really get pleasure from being an influencer?
“I don’t assume there’ll ever be some extent in my life the place I might sit in entrance of all people and complain about what I do. I can let you know that it’s loads of work, however I wouldn’t wish to do the rest. So, if I’ve to work for nonetheless many hours a day, then positive I’ll do it as a result of that is what I wish to do with my life. I benefit from the hell out of it. Is it exhausting? Do I wish to rip my hair out typically? Completely. However who doesn’t whenever you’re working? It’s what I like, it’s what I’m captivated with, it’s my work, it’s the whole lot.”
What are your targets for the long run after school?
“I’ve some fairly enjoyable plans arising! I graduate this Could after which in August I’m transferring to Los Angeles, California. Once I transfer on the market, I’m not getting your typical job, I’m going to focus totally on social media. For the time being, I simply began engaged on this enterprise thought so I’d begin up a enterprise whereas I’m there. I’m actually simply going on the market and throwing the whole lot at pursuing a dream. The best way I see it’s that I received’t let myself fail, I can’t. I’ve on a regular basis on this planet to place the whole lot I’ve received in direction of this one factor. Now, say it doesn’t go how I need, then I simply get a job. I stay, I like, I can do no matter I need, so why the hell not?”
Anna Medykowski | 322.6K on TikTok
What do you do as an influencer? When did you first get began and why?
“I first began out in December of 2020 principally posting my outfits and dancing movies. I feel the primary video I ever made received round 50,000 views and I believed that was the good factor ever, so then I stored going and my account simply slowly began going up.”
What’s the most troublesome half about being an influencer?
“The hate on the web. You possibly can put up one thing and never even assume something is flawed with it, however folks will choose it aside and discover something to touch upon. I’ve my very own humor and my very own model. When you don’t prefer it, I don’t actually care, however on the identical time it’s nonetheless aggravating to see these hateful feedback.”
How has turning into an influencer affected your school expertise?
“Regardless that I’m always filming TikToks and dealing to maintain my followers, I’m nonetheless having the identical school expertise I might have even when I wasn’t on TikTok. Typically it’s a bit annoying as a result of I don’t get to broaden and do the whole lot I wish to do with TikTok. I’ve had many photographers ask me to return out to LA, however I’ve to say no as a result of I can’t miss class. So proper now, I’m simply specializing in the folks which can be in my space and those that are prepared to return see me.”
Spencer Aitken | 2.3M on TikTok
What do you do as an influencer?
“I sometimes make story time movies on TikTok. I might make story time after story time after which final summer season I had my most seen video which was near 60 million views. That’s after I actually began to achieve extra followers.”
Is it onerous to stability doing TikTok and college?
“Yeah, positively. I’ve been placing much more emphasis on college this 12 months somewhat than TikTok. Earlier than the college 12 months began, I had the chance to not go to JMU and exit to LA to be part of a content material creator home, however I made a decision to go to highschool as an alternative as a result of my mother and father all the time emphasised getting a level first. Regardless that TikTok is nice cash, it was necessary for me to concentrate on the long-term.”
How has turning into an influencer affected your school expertise?
“It’s positively positively affected my school expertise. I really feel prefer it’s made me right into a extra assured and confident particular person. I feel that has mirrored on my relationships and the folks I’ve met. A couple of years in the past, I wouldn’t have the social expertise that I do now. I can now be myself with none repercussions. I’ve additionally gotten much more organized. Earlier than TikTok, I used to be horrible with time administration, however when firms provide you with deadlines, you need to meet them. It’s correlated to loads of my college assignments as nicely.”
Tram Tran | 881.7K on TikTok
What do you do as an influencer?
“I went viral by making all you possibly can eat sushi movies on TikTok. My mates all the time knew that I ate rather a lot and as a joke they advised me to movie a TikTok and my first video ended up getting round a half one million views.”
How a lot time, work, and energy does it take to maintain your following?
“Earlier than turning into an influencer, I by no means realized how a lot work it takes to maintain up along with your following and keep related. I needed to electronic mail my advisor and ask to do all my courses on-line for this semester as a result of it’s so onerous to maintain up with courses together with my work. Simply posting a 15 second video can take me virtually three hours to make. I even have sure deadlines I’ve to fulfill for manufacturers. I’m a part of an company the place they assign me sure deadlines and if I don’t meet them, not solely does it look unhealthy on me, but it surely appears to be like unhealthy on the company as nicely, so there’s loads of strain to make sure the whole lot is filmed on time.”
Do you really get pleasure from being an influencer?
“I’ve this platform the place I get to make folks completely happy which is so rewarding. I nonetheless don’t assume I’ve grasped how many individuals watch me every day. Like I’m simply that lady that eats on TikTok, nothing particular. My favourite half about influencing is the response from my followers. I get loads of DMs from ladies saying how a lot I helped them with their consuming problems and the way I inspired them to eat right this moment. To know that I’m making somebody’s day just a little brighter implies that that is all price it.”
Kendall Vertes | 7.3M on TikTok
How did you get began?
“I’ve executed aggressive dance my complete life and finally we received a name from the TV present, ‘Dance Mothers.’ After seven years of ‘Dance Mothers,’ that was the steppingstone that opened loads of doorways for the whole lot that got here after. We have been getting sponsorships and loads of us received into music, performing and modeling.”
Do you really get pleasure from being an influencer?
“Total, my life is a revolving door of posting on Instagram, filming films and making TikToks. My life is figure, however I adore it. That’s what I do. The hatred that individuals will put up about you is the toughest half. I’ve been by means of rather a lot and I’ve powerful pores and skin however on the identical time it’s troublesome to bear typically. It’s onerous to not reply, however more often than not I simply need to let it go. I suppose it comes with the job.”
How has being an influencer affected your school expertise?
“It was positively a transition. Coming to an enormous campus in a wholly totally different state the place I knew nobody was positively an enormous change for me. Everybody right here at JMU has been so good and I by no means imagined having the variety of mates I do. I didn’t need my mates to love me for being ‘Kendall from “Dance Mothers”’ I wished them to love me for who I’m now. I don’t actually think about myself an influencer at JMU, and I don’t even like to contemplate myself well-known as a result of I got here to varsity to be a traditional particular person and get the standard school expertise. I didn’t wish to mix the celebrity a part of my life and the traditional school a part of my life, so I attempt to maintain these separate. Typically I simply must take a step again and keep in mind to stay my life for myself too, not only for my followers.”
Influencers are function fashions, public figures, comedians, fashion-icons, and extra, however they’re additionally actual people too. They go to highschool, watch approach an excessive amount of TV, fail assessments, get their hearts damaged and even do the dishes. By means of onerous work, dedication and a powerful work ethic, Megan, Anna, Spencer, Tram and Kendall have developed the energy and resilience to make it within the influencing world and have preserved by means of the challenges of balancing school and hundreds of thousands of followers.
Freelance contribution particularly written for Discover Your Affect by Jordan O’Connor.
