 |
SCREEN CAPTURE / YOUTUBE
Popular YouTuber Lilly Singh needs a break, she says. |
Lilly Singh, AKA "Superwoman," needs a vacation. In a video (of course) she made it clear that she's not quitting YouTube, the video platform that made her one of the world's most popular YouTubers.
“I am mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted,” she told viewers in her video. “I think there’s a lot going on up here that I need to address that I’m not able to, constantly pumping out content.”
"I want to be honest with you, I could be happier," she says. "I'm not my optimal happiness right now, I could be mentally healthier. I don't feel like I'm completely mentally healthy. There's a lot going on up here that I need to address and I'm not able to constantly pumping out content."
I'm familiar with that feeling. After 28 years in journalism, most of it as an editor, I've seen reporters burn out at the constant need to produce content for the never-satisfied "Daily Beast.," whether it be a story, a brief, a caption, an expose exposing corporate graft or marking a centenarian's birthday.
The constant pressure to produce grew as the corporate media moguls gobbled up family-owned newspapers. Reporters felt like they were simply cogs in a machine.
In Singh's case, despite the glory and fame that came with her YouTube channel, the pressure seems to be self-inflicted. Singh admitted that she's not been happy with some of her latest content.
She's run into a wall that's iimpacted other content creators. They aren't paid by YouTube for all their hard work, n some cases, risk-taking. That has led to criticism of exploitation. However, YouTube offers them a platform for which they can become famous and that could lead to monetary benefits through sponsorships and endorsements. In Singh's case, some estimate her worth around $16 million.
The Canada-born Singh, 30, is the daughter of Sikh immigrants. She began vlogging in 2010, singing, rapping, just being funny. Her videos have received over 2 billion views, and her channel has accumulated over 14 million loyal subscribers, who feel they have a personal relationship with someone who is funny, creative, rich and famous.
Singh admits that she doesn’t fully understand YouTube’s current culture, which has drastically changed over the years. “I haven’t been super happy with a lot of the content I’ve created,” she says.
“You know, the thing about YouTube is that, in all of its glory, it kind of is a machine," she continued in her video. "And it makes creators believe that we have to pump out content consistently, even at the cost of our life and our mental health and our happiness because if you don’t, then you’ll become irrelevant.” Some of the content she makes, she adds, is “because I think I have to on this platform that demands constant content, but it’s not really a reflection of me.”
Singh emphasizes that she's not leaving YouTube but says she’s unsure how long she’ll be away. “I hope you know that I really need this for my sanity, for my happiness, and to just be better,” she says.
WATCH more of Lilly Singh's videos.____________________________________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment