For many content creators, TikTok is a platform that can not only give them a revenue stream for creating content, but also allow them to gain mainstream attention, thus boosting any content on other platforms.
But going viral on TikTok comes at a price, and one of the platform’s more successful TikTok creators, Tayler Holder, says that the fame he has garnered from the app isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.
Holder, 24, has over 20 million followers on TikTok, and has generated 6 million on Instagram, which is where he shared his thoughts on being a successful creator.
“To any upcoming influencers or people that dream to have this life, please know it’s really not what you think it is at all,” Holder wrote on his Instagram story. “Having millions of followers and millions of $ is cool, but please don’t let that blind you. I have been one of the most successful people in this space and it has truly made me the lowest I’ve ever been in my life.”
“It’s f**ked up everything. It’s affected my relationship with my family. It’s affected friendships, and it’s mentally put me in a place I never thought I would ever be in my life. I feel like a robot. I’m doing everything in my life I could have ever dreamed of and still feel so empty. I’ve completely lost myself trying to find something that I thought was so amazing.”
It is clear that the growth of TikTok, and the mainstream success of a number of it’s creators, has created a more competitive and robust creator market, and has even created a need for marketing and TikTok SEO for businesses and brands looking to cash in on the potential.
But this also can have a negative impact on creators, even the most successful, who find themselves in a more competitive market than ever, with no signs of slowing down.