By Rogene Teodoro
While social media can be used as a place to unwind, communicate and even learn, it’s also a place many criticize for being ingenuine for public viewing. However, some students at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) challenge this stereotype by creating content that expresses their most authentic selves.
For some, like fourth-year law and business student Kaitlyn Huynh, it’s a place to share personal experiences.
Kaitlyn, along with her twin sister, Kristin, create lifestyle content and food reviews on both TikTok and Instagram. Prior to their debut in their second year, Huynh didn’t think much of social media and thought it was a joke. Her journey began during the quarantine period of the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to combat boredom in isolation.
“It was 100 per cent self-taught and it was super random…I was just super bored and I decided, why not record how much or what I do during reading week,” said Huynh. “I guess from there I started getting views and kept continuing to record my everyday life at school.”
In her early creator days, Huynh’s posts were inspired by a combination of her life as a student and content made by other creators. She recalled one of her first series being focused on how she spent her reading week studying. As time passed, the focus of her posts transitioned into trying trends and giving general food recommendations in the Greater Toronto Area.
“I think it was honestly just something to do for fun.” she said. “My goal is to post whatever and have fun with it…I’m just trying to show the world what I do and whether I influence [an audience] or not, I don’t really care.”
Today, Huynh and her sister have over 28,400 followers on TikTok.
Jenna Jacobson, an associate professor at the Ted Rogers School of Management, describes social media as a platform for users to share their personal experiences.
According to Jacobson, similar to general users, online creators aim to “share the mundane” of everyday life. However, they do so with additional stresses, including understanding how to profit off of their posts and figuring out what resonates with their audiences.
TMU nursing graduate Vivian Lau is a YouTube vlogger who also shares her passion for dance, beauty and fashion on her Instagram page.
She values community, believing that someone’s five closest people influence their character. She applies these beliefs onto social media by consuming positive, self-help and inspirational content—motivating her to create similar forms of media.
When she began her journey, Lau felt a bit like a “lone wolf.” Though as she developed her profile, she found satisfaction in interacting with and guiding others.
In addition to learning how to manage her platform through trial and error, Lau faced some emotional challenges.
“I struggled a lot with fear of judgment. But I realized when I would get judgment, it’s from people that don’t necessarily deserve my energy, and so I was putting myself in positions recently …where I feel uplifted and empowered as a young, female, Korean content [creator],” she said.
“I’ve actually faced a lot of criticism and hate comments and I’ve detached myself from it because I realize the true people that matter in my life won’t care,” Lau added.
Social media has an influence on how users choose to represent themselves. While it’s easy to believe that online identities curated by social media consumers are different from their offline ones, Jacobson suggested they’re not so different in terms of how they function.
“We’re always curating a specific persona that we would like to portray,” said Jacobson. “We’re always involved in a constant process of identity, creation, curation and management.”
To be a content creator is a journey of discovery and self development. It’s also an opportunity for users to build communities with individuals that have shared passions, as well as a place to experiment with ideas.
While some factors—such as trends—can encourage a form of development, it doesn’t necessarily mean a user needs to conform to social media standards.
“It’s putting your own creativity into a piece that you’re inspired by,” said Lau. “Everyone gets inspiration from different content, but it’s up to you to make it your own.”
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