Final month, a tragic incident laid naked the psychological toll of social media fame. Misha Agrawal, a preferred content material creator, died by suicide on April 24, days earlier than her twenty fifth birthday. The explanation? A gentle lack of followers on social media.
Whereas her household initially stored the trigger non-public, her sister Mukta Agrawal later revealed on Instagram that Misha had been battling despair triggered by a decline in her follower depend. “My little child sister had constructed her world round Instagram and her followers, with a single purpose of reaching 1 million followers and gaining loving followers. When her followers began lowering, she grew to become distraught and felt nugatory. Since April, she has been deeply depressed, typically hugging me and crying, saying, Jijja, what’s going to I do if my followers lower? “My profession will likely be over,” wrote Mukta on Misha’s official Instagram account.
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Mukta additionally shared that Misha had set screenshots of her follower counts as her cellphone wallpaper. “Instagram shouldn’t be an actual world and followers will not be actual love,” she wrote, urging others to look past metrics.
Misha’s story is an excessive however alarming illustration of a rising disaster inside the creator financial system, one the place psychological well being is more and more in danger as younger folks construct their identities and livelihoods round digital validation.
Psychological and emotional toll of on-line presence
In a dialog with indianexpress.com, creators spoke in regards to the emotional pressure of sustaining a web based identification.
Enterprise creator Nitin Joshi known as “emotional calibration” his largest problem. “Exhibiting up with the identical power – whether or not you’re celebrated, ignored, or hated – is the toughest half,” he mentioned.
Vogue and wonder creator Sana Ghauri echoed this sentiment. “Some days, I’m coping with breakouts, anxiousness, or simply feeling low however the algorithm doesn’t care, proper? You begin questioning whether or not folks will nonetheless interact should you’re not glowing or creating day by day. And let’s not even speak about comparability. It’s straightforward to really feel such as you’re not doing sufficient when your feed is stuffed with curated perfection,” she mentioned.
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Sejal Bhalke, an rising creator mentioned, “I knew there could be hate feedback or folks judging my look, however initially, since my follower depend was small, the response was largely constructive.” Issues flipped when one in all her movies went viral. “Instantly, there have been hate feedback, judgements about how I appeared, and naturally, some help too. Now, I don’t learn feedback in any respect. I submit and go offline,” she mentioned.
Something that’s unsure or is out of our management provides us anxiousness; and this holds true for content material creators as effectively. (Supply: Freepik)
Patterns in creator psychological well being
Scientific psychologist Nishita Srivastava from Lissun, a psychological well being platform, has noticed a regarding sample in purchasers who work in content material creation. “Creators expertise a ‘excessive’ – on getting ‘likes’ or appreciation in some type – that triggers a reward pathway just like what folks expertise throughout substance use.”
The issue, Srivastava famous, is what occurs when that preliminary excessive fades: “After a while, when the preliminary excessive dies, one may intention for increasingly to attain that very same pleasure one felt initially. This may result in frustration and desperation to be validated by others. In the long term, this results in the person’s shallowness and present temper being utterly depending on how effectively their content material is doing on the social platforms,” she mentioned.
Algorithm anxiousness and the nervous system
The unpredictable nature of social media algorithms creates what consultants name “algorithm anxiousness”—a state of fixed hypervigilance that takes a bodily toll on creators. “Something that’s unsure or is out of our management provides us anxiousness; and this holds true for content material creators as effectively. One by no means is aware of what may be the following viral reel or what may make one grow to be and keep related,” mentioned Srivastava.
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Psychologist Raashi Gurnani mentioned she has seen a “vital rise in purchasers who work as content material creators or are deeply embedded within the social media area.” Lots of them current with signs of continual anxiousness, burnout, and identification confusion. “A standard psychological sample is emotional dysregulation triggered by inconsistent on-line suggestions—what they typically describe as ‘the algorithm’s temper swings.’ These people reside in a continuing state of efficiency, the place their self-concept turns into closely enmeshed with viewers reception,” she mentioned.
Business pressures and shopper expectations
The strain on creators isn’t simply inside; it typically comes from manufacturers and purchasers obsessive about metrics. Mohit Ghate, co-founder at Wit & Chai Group, acknowledged this actuality: “Completely, the shopper expectations round numbers like follower depend, attain, and engagement typically scale back creators to mere distribution channels, when in actuality, they’re storytellers and tradition shapers.”
Whereas Ghate recognised the enterprise necessity of monitoring metrics – “particularly for justifying ROI, as companies should justify effort vs profit ratio” – he argued that “the obsession with self-importance numbers could be deeply flawed.”
Sheetal Sharma, founder and director of Supreme Help Consultants, a PR and influencer advertising company, sees comparable pressures. She mentioned, “The fixation on excessive efficiency, variety of followers, and virality locations enormous strain on creators to maintain going nonstop. It makes them really feel they’ll’t spare an ‘off’ week.”
The glamourisation of creator life
Many trade insiders fear that the glamourised portrayal of influencer life misleads younger folks in regards to the emotional prices of the career.
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“Influencer life is often idealised – all the things from journey to items, reputation, and journey. However it’s not seen the behind the scenes of countless takes for one excellent video, content material technique, fear, or loneliness. And for younger creatives coming into into this area with no boundaries and help methods, this may be perilous,” mentioned Sharma.
Piyush Agrawal, co-founder of CREATE, an influencer advertising and expertise administration company, agreed: “The reality is, it requires a thick pores and skin and a robust work ethic to maintain on this discipline. Whereas the rewards are excessive, the hassle and strain to constantly ship are simply as intense.”
The wrestle to point out vulnerability
Regardless of growing consciousness about psychological well being, many creators really feel they’ll’t brazenly talk about their struggles on-line.
“There’s at all times strain to seem ‘wonderful.’ As a result of within the creator financial system, vulnerability has a shelf life — and efficiency has a premium,” defined Joshi. “You’re rewarded extra for a motivational quote than for admitting weak point. Authenticity is inspired — however provided that it’s viral, polished, and packaged with trending audio.”
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Ghauri shared an analogous sentiment: “As a creator, there’s this unstated strain to at all times appear okay – put collectively, thriving, glowing. However the reality is, I’ve my low days too. Speaking about psychological well being publicly nonetheless feels susceptible, like folks may choose or suppose I’m being ‘an excessive amount of’.”
Some companies are starting to recognise the necessity for higher psychological well being help for creators. (Supply: Freepik)
Coping mechanisms and discovering steadiness
Bhalke has developed her personal strategies for managing the emotional influence of social media. “You’ll chortle at this, however every time I submit a video, I actually change off my web and disappear till the following morning. It’s like I’ve skilled my thoughts to imagine that if I don’t watch the views, the video may truly carry out higher.”
Srivastava advisable particular methods for content material creators to guard their psychological well-being. “Constructing motion: One may need to uncover actions exterior social media that preserve them bodily energetic and in contact with their genuine self. This might embody actions like sports activities, gardening or pottery. Taking break day social media: Going for a digital detox or having days the place you attempt to restrict social media utilization may be an awesome thought, particularly for people who spend numerous time on-line,” she mentioned.
Business options and company help
Some companies are starting to recognise the necessity for higher psychological well being help for creators. Ghate shared how his company approaches burnout: “What helps, even when it doesn’t eradicate the strain, is permitting creators the area to method content material of their voice and magnificence. It acts like a security valve, a small launch in an in any other case high-pressure system. Whereas it doesn’t erase burnout, it actually humanises the method.”
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Agrawal careworn monetary self-discipline as a path to higher autonomy. “Once you’re financially steady, you will have the liberty to decide on work that actually aligns with you and say no to what doesn’t. That autonomy helps scale back the strain,” he mentioned.
Sharma believes the trade tradition is slowly shifting. “More and more extra manufacturers are actually recognising the ability of authenticity and lasting influence in comparison with steady outputs. As a studio, we’re proponents for the well-being of creators and actively promote direct dialogue with manufacturers on practical necessities and sustainable launch timelines,” she mentioned.