Get ready with me to write for the Dalhousie Gazette

I open my phone in sync with my eyes every morning. Sliding my finger to turn off my alarm, then immediately open Instagram to be greeted by the familiar sight of strangers. Before I’ve even started my day, I’ve watched dozens of others live theirs.

On social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, some users spend hours documenting their daily routine, romanticizing a life others might consider boring.

Sure, there are many people online whose lives are drastically changed by a social media following. Some pay off their debts, meet celebrities and get invited to big events like the Met Gala. The overnight fame looks glamorous and incredibly appealing.

One type of content creation that has emerged from this genre is the worker-influencer. 

While your nine-to-five job may seem uninteresting, people in your industry will watch your content. With the diversity of jobs in the world, there’s a place online for anyone wishing to fill this niche.

Never before have I cared what a bakery owner is up to, but now, having such easy access to this information, it’s enjoyable to peek into other people’s lives. 

There’s such a variety of these influencers: some showcase their high-intensity fields, some bring you to their nine-to-five as an auditor and some sit at home in their scrubs informing the public about how realistic The Pitt is.

Truthfully, I find it all interesting. 

But besides enjoyment, does this genre of content creation give anything valuable to their viewers? 

For me, seeing a broad range of people who are actually working in the field I’m interested in has genuinely been invaluable. 

As a journalism student, I follow lots of journalists on Instagram, from local Haligonians reporting for the city to people from across the world. Recently, however, I’ve started following journalists whose accounts are less about their work and more about their lives as they work. 

Even though I wanted to be a journalist since the ninth grade, I still constantly second-guess myself and every decision I make. Seeing what goes on behind the scenes for many journalists who are situated in their fields has helped me form opinions about what work I want to do in the future.

Social media started as a way to connect people. Amongst the AI slop and mind-numbing marketing schemes, it makes sense to follow ordinary people in the industries we’re interested in. 

Since we’re all glued to our phones anyways, we might as well spend the endless scroll time learning about prospective careers from professionals in the field.

By sharing their work with the world, these influencers provide a peek behind the curtain so young adults can see what they are aspiring to do, making more information available to them before life-altering decisions are made.

But I do worry that the same people trying to sell their career to you are also the same people who need to generate a second income through social media. 

Because of the way that monetization works in Canada, influencers on platforms like TikTok mainly get paid through brand deals. 

If your favourite influencer has a post every week advertising a new useless gadget, then maybe their career isn’t as idyllic as it might seem. Weirdly, that’s also valuable information.

So, to all those wondering if they should create an account and start sharing, I think you should. Film your TikToks, have fun with your life, and hopefully inspire someone enough that they search online for “How to become a cheesemonger.”