The Dark Side of Creator Economy
What we don't see is where the world is going
GM, I’m Shreya. And this is Crypto Creatives. The best newsletter about the Crypto Creator Economy. If you’re new here, consider subscribing.
I love that more people are making money doing what they love like never before.
It makes me ecstatic. It allows me for women born in a developing country with a single parent and no pedigree to have big dreams and hope of living them one day.
The freedom and the opportunity that the creator economy has brought me are endless. Even when I made no money, I achieved so much more than most people don’t in their entire life — not to brag but to show you a glimpse of what’s possible in today’s world.
Getting tired of not making any significant progress in Web 3 made me jump on the bandwagon of Web 3 and learn how decentralization is solving the problems of creators.
But even with the new technological advances, there are some fundamental issues with the creator economy, affecting creators and everyone using the internet.
Wondering how? Let’s talk in detail.
Everyone is a Creator
Everyone is a content creator without them even knowing it.
Content has become the word of the decade. Previously I’d use content to describe how I felt, but now I don’t know if the content is a TikTok video, an Instagram post, or a long text post on LinkedIn.
People are getting more comfortable sharing everything online. Some of it is valuable, and some are crap, like a letter from your ex.
Some make more money than they did in their 9–5; some are not bothered about the monetary benefits. Some people like me are juggling it with their jobs.
With no minimum barrier, degree, or certification to join, everyone is a creator — CEO to a tea seller.
There is no segregation. No Layers.
Everyone who posts anything online is a creator, even your grandmom.
The Results? — Too Much Content
With so much content floating around, it becomes impossible to segregate the good ones from the rest.
Our time on screens has increased drastically over the last few years. We check our phones around 58 times daily and spend hours mindlessly scrolling through social media.
We can consume 30 pieces of content in one minute without realizing it.
All of this is fucking with our brains. And as creators, we’re responsible for some of it.
This overconsumption may trick you into believing you’re growing, but it’s the creator making money off your attention.
Most content doesn’t help the audience but creates new problems.
Creators are selling a solution to problems that don’t exist
Everyone has a solution.
A solution to a problem that wasn’t on our radar before.
Everyone has a course. Everyone has an online product. The market is saturated.
Isn’t it amazing? — you’d ask.
Despite creators making a living online, isn’t it terrifying to know that everyone is selling something now? You don’t know when you get bluffed into buying an empty notebook in exchange for your hard-earned money.
The repetitive writing courses, the same old courses on creating viral content —affect the creators whose products are worth buying. They are too afraid to ask the bare minimum for what they’re offering.
The people with confidence and assertive marketing win over the hard workers who genuinely want to help you.
The meritocracy that made the creator economy a revolution gets sidetracked in the pursuit of making more money.
Creating hooks and shocking headlines to make people click on your content or go to your landing page has increased drastically. As a result, spending time online without seeing ads has become a rare sight.
We all be growth hacking FOMOs for our audience.
It’s not wrong, but more than providing value, it’s affecting our mental health and making us a small rat in the bigger trade.
Most of us have forgotten why we started on this journey.
Everything is about the content or numbers.
Is there something we can do?
I don’t have the resolution of what’s happening in our industry.
We started with the mission of empowering ourselves and picking a career.
But with more venture capital entering this economy, more people joining the space have been defiled.
The art and the passion, which were crucial parts of this new economic development, died in front of capitalism.
As consumers and creators, we’ve got to be wise with what we consume and create.
Bringing people with the same expertise together and building DAOs and communities that are genuinely interested in their growth could be one.
“In the age of technology there is constant access to vast amounts of information. The basket overflows; people get overwhelmed; the eye of the storm is not so much what goes on in the world, it is the confusion of how to think, feel, digest, and react to what goes on.”
― Criss Jami
Ultimately, all creators need to be responsible for what they create and how it will impact all of us.
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