Jasmine Chiswell, an influencer based in Los Angeles, knows that she has to keep the momentum going. A star on TikTok, Chiswell aspires to upload new videos to the platform—where she reaches some 16.2 million followers—up to three times a day.
That kind of consistency may keep her fresh in people's minds, but it can also be taxing. At times, Chiswell might even deprive herself of breaks or refuse to take a day off.
"Sometimes after that, I do feel like, just shattered," she told Newsweek. "I have no energy, and I then have to tell myself as well like, 'OK, if I don't take some time off, then I am going to experience burnout and I'm not going to be able to create as well as I can.'"
Chiswell is far from alone in feeling burnt out. American workers are enduring sky-high levels of work-related fatigue, and other young content creators have revealed they suffer from anxiety and a lack of inspiration.
TikTok mega-celeb Charli D'Amelio said that she'd "lost the passion" for the platform, Insider reported in 2021. Influencer Emma Chamberlain also previously admitted to feeling stretched thin in an interview with Vogue.
Now, a new survey is helping to quantify influencers' exhaustion.
Nearly 80 percent of content creators and online influencers reported experiencing burnout, according to the survey released this month by affiliate marketing platforms Awin and ShareASale. Two-thirds of respondents said it affects their mental health.
Such burnout can ding influencers' creativity and make them appear less authentic, according to Carissa Flinders, a team lead in influencer partnerships for publisher management for Awin.
"When these creators are burning the candle at both ends to keep up with changing algorithms, and churning out content without a break, it impacts the creative juices," Flinders told Newsweek. "This eventually begins to affect brand relationships and their relationships with their followers because it isn't once what it used to be and is no longer engaging or valuable."
Chiswell started gaining traction online in 2020, with fans flocking to her pages to take in her vintage wardrobe, energetic personality and classic makeup style. Called "the internet's Marilyn Monroe" for her striking similarities, Chiswell actually lives in the late movie legend's former Hollywood home with her husband and small child.
TikTok is her main medium, but Chiswell regularly posts on Instagram to her 1.1 million followers and on YouTube to her roughly 599,000 subscribers. She tries to upload original content around once a day on these platforms.
Chiswell has clearly found success on social media and recently announced her collaboration with ColourPop Cosmetics, but the influencer explains that constantly having to be "on" can be tiring.
"Social media is like a 24/7 thing; it doesn't shut down. It doesn't sleep. It's just constant, constant, constant," she said. "I do feel like there's that pressure. For me, like, it's like a pressure you put on yourself that you can't take a day off. You can't step away for a second, really—you have to keep being like: 'OK, what's the next thing? I need to keep posting. I need to keep going.'"
Chiswell added that trying to come up with content each day can be "tough."
"I just want to be able to put something out there every day for my followers to see," she said. "I'm always thinking like, 'What can I do next? What can be the next thing that I can do?' And sometimes you just sit there, and I'm just like, 'I genuinely have no idea today.' Maybe it's just because I'm really tired or I'm having a bad day and I'm just like, 'I can't think of anything right now.'"
Chiswell might blame herself when a video doesn't perform as well as she'd hoped, and it makes it even harder when the haters come after her. But she does her best to shrug off the negativity.
It seems that for Chiswell, the good does outweigh the bad. She'll hear from followers who say that her posts are meaningful to them, and as someone who used to want to be a doctor, helping others is what she's after.
"I just feel really thankful that I'm able to do this as a job every day," Chiswell said. "I didn't expect to do it, and I just feel grateful for everyone that's been able to help me along the way."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Simone Carter is a Newsweek reporter based in Texas. Her focus is covering all things in national news. Simone joined ... Read more
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