Influencers who leave well paid, essential jobs to travel the world/ make content

[Paramedia]

I seem to have been flooded with new accounts of white women in their 30’s/ 40’s who all seem to have similar stories of leaving teaching, medicine, corporate jobs, law to travel and create ‘content’ either with or without children whilst travelling.
Obviously I am a bit jealous, but I wonder why now? Ten years ago, people would be happy to have a two week holiday and then come back to work. Was that because there was no other ‘easy’ option such as influencing or that we were just happier in our jobs?
I wonder if it’s a mindset, I always hear ‘do what makes you happy’ and wonder ‘but we can’t all do that, all of the time?’. Someone has to be doing the watching, someone has to be working in those sectors and seeking the escapism that those accounts offer? So how do they, ‘the creators’, know that they will be the ones who make it, that their accounts will be the ones people engage with. Or are there enough people that all of the similar accounts can all be successful based on views alone?

My friend is off around the world at the moment.

She runs her own marketing business and she can work anywhere with Internet. She works in the early mornings/evenings and is off out exploring during the day.

She does have a TikTok with a few thousand followers but is only making a few pounds from it. I don’t think it pays out like it used to.

It is something I’m seriously considering to be honest. I’m 50 soon and I’m sick of wasting my life sat at a desk doing the same old shit day in day out. DH runs his own business and can work from anywhere

If I could have travelled about without having to deal with students and paperwork for almost 30 years, well that sounds grand.

Forty years ago before I knew him DH traveled round the world for over 18 months. He did this knowing he had his PhD to return to that was sponsored by a company so effectively an ok paid job. In those days there was no such thing as influencers and he worked a couple of jobs in America and Australia to top up his income. He did something most can only dream of and back when the numbers at historic sites was tiny compared to now. He has a photo of himself on The Great Wall of China, he is the only person visible with a huge stretch behind him. He is quite posh I suppose and had worked for a year for a multinational company and for his age earned a lot, he also speaks 3 languages.

Its just advertising isn’t it.

Because it goes completely against the ethos she puports and is disingenuous, obviously. Slagging off 'corporations' and 'money greed' but making sure all her ca-razy adventures are filmed with her VISA card and that she swipes it on a VISA contactless machine and a little VISA logo in the corner? Come on.

Good for them if they can earn money from it. I only know of one ‘influencer’ who does daft jokey things and earns around £15k a month and now has an agent, all from one daft video going viral.

For example they did a 20 sec reel with Ninja air fryer which they got for free and a £6k fee. Bonkers!

Personally I am indifferent I don't follow any influencers and probably never will.
But if people are happy to follow them and financing some or all of their holidays why not?
Equally if these influencers want their lives spilled all over social media then why not?

I get these thrown at me on FB so you don't have to be on Instagram (which I am) or Tiktok (which I tried but was just boring).
My algorithm is luckily medical professionals, teachers, foster carers, and random clips from old British TV shows (supernanny, various police shows) and some feminist stuff. Oh and cat food!

I would prefer the teaching/medical funnies and information come from someone working in the profession than someone who left 10 years ago.

I also really hate the influencers who use their kids in the reels. You have to be making your children pose again and again or walk into the Air BnB again and again to get those right.

Well I do have some kowledge of how it works despite you and other pp portraying me as an out of touch dinosaur!

Out of interest why do you follow multiple influencers?

Quite seriously I think modern life has turned many people into voyeurists who, instead of living life themselves, are addicted to watching other people acting out their lives for public consumption.

Hhhmm, so she could spend the rest of her working life traipsing around some bland city in the UK (I assume), showing people bricks and mortar, in the hope they might decide the like them enough to buy them.

OR she takes her sponsorship and spends 5/10/20 however many years seeing the world at the expense of a global company.

Can't imagine why she'd not just stick with the first one, settle down, pop out a couple of kids and live the dream on her basic maternity pay. 🙄

I'm guessing your brother is a little more broad minded.

Out of interest why do you follow multiple influencers?

They're funny and entertaining, I see it as no different than watching people on TV. They might have a sponsor with some of the common Youtube ones (AirUP/Hello Fresh/etc) but I tend to just skip them and it's 100% communicated that it's an advert.

Yes, I used to meet a lot of digital nomads in my backpacking days. I think they have the best of both worlds. A relatively more secure job (than social media influencer) but still able to travel around and work from anywhere.

On the point about being 50 and sick of wasting your life in the grind, ironically some of the jobs that people are leaving in pursuit of creating content and influencing, such as Law and medicine, would allow one to retire in their 50s and then they can go travelling without worrying about it needing to be funded. I work in Finance and the average age of retirement is early-mid 50s (with a very healthy pension). One of the partners is currently on a year-long trip in India (he’s actually sort of documenting it on instagram, although not to make money, just for family and friends).

I’ve a friend who left a lucrative career and set up a travel business via Insta. She’s worked her arse off for the past 5 years and is beginning to see a financial return. She’s able to employ a team of people now and her family are beginning to really benefit.

It’s just another business model. I think she’s awesome for taking the risk. You’d see her as ‘another influencer’.

It’s a terrible time to be a high earner in the UK. Anyone smart enough to be a surgeon or a lawyer, will also be able to calculate their tax on their salary adequately. As publishing companies continue to struggle to monetise editorial content, individuals with large followings have none of the overheads that large firms do and are paid handsomely for relatively little work. Especially if their other option was busting their chops to give Labour most of their hard earn cash, seems a potentially smart move. See the world and get paid, or stay in the UK and get absolutely clobbered by HMRC. Tricky choice.

Well I think you have just illustrated how different people are. Personally I watch very, very little TV as I struggle to find anything that interests me. So watching influencers would be the epitome of boredom for me.

I dont go on you tube or follow any influencers .I do think its probably harder than it looks though.Having to be "on" most of the time and never missing an "opportunity" sounds exhausting! I think Covid has changed our world a lot, and women dont want to "settle down and have babies " at least not for a good while .Presumably this is a way of paying towards costs while travelling .

I think you misunderstand what influences are.

They are actors, script-writers and editors of a performance that they pretend to be their life.

It's a job (of sorts).

who all seem to have similar stories of leaving teaching

• the key part is that it is a story. Just like click bait. "I was a senior executive at 22 and threw it all in to travel and live life"... yeah, really!! And the similarity is because they're all operating from the same influencer manual.

So how do they, ‘the creators’, know that they will be the ones who make it, that their accounts will be the ones people engage with. Or are there enough people that all of the similar accounts can all be successful based on views alone?

They don't. Like all businesses, investment firms etc, they will allege they're successful. And when they fail, they don't send out notices to you. They just cry quietly.and return to their shit "CEO of my Tesco check-out" job.

There was a scary article i read recently about the ever decreasing age people start with (expensive) cosmetic surgery. A lot seems to be driven by influencers who have to appear perfect and aspirational at all times.

PS. They rarely influence. They just generate a lot of monetised clicks

You realise that influencers talk about an almost infinite number of subjects? Technology, finance, history, languages, crime, law, news, politics etc. No matter the subject, there will be a youtube channel about it.

Although, if you don't enjoy TV then you obviously wont enjoy videos just because they're shown on another medium.

How much of it is real? Hotels and other venues are having issues with these people visiting the bar or booking one night stays and then posing for a load of photographs as if they were on holiday.

Some real misogyny on this thread, as well as a serious lack of understanding of how much work it takes to be a full time content creator. I am a freelance creative consultant who often creates content on behalf of my clients and it is incredibly hard work. If people (men do it too you know!) can travel the world and earn a living from doing it then good luck to them.

Are the influencers paying for that 1 night? If so, what issues are the hotels having?

I agree it’s not real. There’s an influencer I follow (and I unashamedly follow loads and enjoy most of the content!) who orders designer clothes from Net-a-Porter, makes videos of her ‘unboxing’, trying on and ‘styling’ the clothes. Then the clothes are never to be seen again. She obviously returns them, unless we’re to believe that a 27 year-old woman filming from her bedroom at her parents’ house can afford Dolce & Gabbana dresses and Balmain blazers every week. But maybe some people do believe that? Who knows.

Yes I know they hold forth on various topics.

But just why should people take any notice?

If they are just random people with no qualifications or expertise in the subject they are holding forth on then it's very worrying that people listen to them. Most people have some sort of agenda and to listen to some random without knowing that agenda or knowing their biasis puts people in great danger of being manipulated and brainemwashed.

what does "content creator" mean, do people actually pay for all this?

One we tend to watch are usually making stuff - metal work, wood work - art or sewing/clothes/cooking - there a SFX studio in Hollywood they comment on film/tv effects - interview people and make their own and show how it's done - English hertiage do makeup and cooking videos now.

We do watch a few travel ones - one who reviews cruises I think she'd be on anyway - and two who do plane flights - both men one luxury one flights and locations.

Most we watch it's bolted on to their jobs - they'd still be doing antiquing/metal working - it just expands what they can do and the opportunties they get. The one artist who used you tube to built up a small bussiness in australia and expand into other areas - he said he only one who did his art course who works as an artist still. There a tech reviewer in US who build a small company same way - recent venture was sport and gaming center.

Other do it as part of their hobby - there doing up a house or there an anesthetists in US who I think make her expensive historical clothes making hobby cost neutral - and they often face a point where they either have to give up day job and go full time or cut back as it's takes so much time and effort.

The money comes from advertising revenue - often these days they also set up things like patreon or go onto other subscription platforms or they do content just for additional payers on some other platorm/webpage- and some sell books or art of craft on top as well or get known and offered projects.

I'm not seeing loads of people taking kids out of school and traveling the world though.

This is such an odd take to me- who is to say who is qualified to give an opinion on anything?

Using travel influencers as an example- if that is someone's full time job and they spend all their time travelling the world reviewing hotels, the I would say that makes them qualified to review hotels?

All of media is at risk of manipulating and brainwashing, even mainstream media made up of known names and 'qualified' people.

Many of them do have qualifications. There are doctors, lawyers, historians etc online. There are hobbyists where their subject is their true passion.

Everyone has an agenda, Unless you never read a book, magazine or newspaper, never watch TV or film, never have a conversation with anyone then you are listening to someone with an agenda.

I think it might be the word 'influencer' that puts people's backs up.

I watch people on YouTube; a few ASMR massagers, budget-living people, downsizers, Clutterbug, who specialises in housework and decluttering for people with ADHD...

They would probably call themselves 'influencers' in their job description. But I am not watching to be influenced, they aren't selling me anything. Most of them aren't even advertising anything, they are just talking to me. I'm watching for company, for ideas and tips on living well. I don't get to see any 'families going on holidays' because my algorithms are skewed to informative content.

I'm very aware of agendas.