Breaking Through the Outbreak

Charly David T. Manuel

Sometime last year, during the pandemic outbreak, also came the outbreak of content creation.
Anyone can create and post content to different social media platforms. While watching reels
on Facebook, I am amazed that even my classmates, teachers, and different kinds of people in
the community consider themselves content creators. Some of them can already monetize their
earnings through their earned stars. That brought me to think about how easily accessible it is
to a mere student to become a content creator.

The Economic Times reported a significant demand for content creators and influencers for
about 117% as of July 2023 and is expected to remain strong in 2024 and beyond. Content
creation is the process of creating various forms of media that appeal to your target audience.
It involves multiple stages, from envisioning a narrative to marketing a published piece. And the
content creation process, conventionally, involves different experts and professional
equipment. Yet today, anyone holding a camera could be called as such - a content creator.

Realistically speaking, a career as a content creator can be both rewarding and challenging. It is
a great opportunity to showcase your creativity, share your passions with the world, and build a
diverse audience. However, it is important to be realistic about the challenges involved. The
luxury of earning money from it becomes very enticing to the students without considering
their safety.

The threat of cyber-aggression should be considered. Cyberaggression is an intentional hostile

behavior through online means. While The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (R.A. No. 10175)
exists, numerous forms of cybercrime, including identity theft, harassment, sexual abuse, and
blackmail, still run rampant on social media platforms. This raises concerns regarding the
susceptibility of social media users to such threats. Admittedly, I for one, and students are very
vulnerable to these kinds of issues. They can have a bigger tendency to be caught under
constant pressure just to appear likable and ‘marketable’ to their audience, which can lead to
mental health issues. Unfortunately, they are not knowledgeable enough to protect their
mental health or even prepared enough to mitigate a cyber-aggression attack.

Moreover, students themselves can be the main agents of the proliferation of misinformation.
Unsurprisingly, some are ready to cross the line of genuine expression and content blurs for the
sake of garnering viewership. They may resort to cheap clickbait tactics resulting in
misinformation, which not only destroys the authenticity of content but also undermines the
principle of freedom of expression in which content creation is rooted.

Nevertheless, the massive rise of content creators marks a paradigm shift in mass
communication, providing individuals the tools to become the engineers of their envisioned
narratives presented in their creative ways.

As we navigate through this ever-changing digital era, only one thing remains certain: creativity
knows no bounds, and anyone can be a storyteller.