As someone who spends a lot of time consuming content, I have learned to grow an appreciation for authenticity. This industry is notorious for prioritizing perfection especially on apps like Tiktok. This is where content creators share their picture perfect, cookie cutter life with their audience. Once people started to actively post on Tiktok, there was an overflow of creators posting aesthetically pleasing videos with very casual captions to create a believable facade. At first I genuinely enjoyed watching content creators sugar coated their lives because it was what I thought I wanted to see. I was under the impression that I, as the consumer, should want to see how clean, beautiful and unachievable life could be; Especially considering there are mass amounts of videos and accounts on the app dedicated to sharing this illusion. In actuality, being the consumer entitles you to consume whatever the hell you want and the internet is the perfect place for that.
When I consume content now, I am much more focused on watching the most authentic form of that content. This could be an unedited video of someone telling a story or even a cooking segment in a kitchen that doesn’t need an entire film and lighting set up. I would rather see something real and fun then only see what a creator wants me to see. This is where the Toronto-based blogger, Dee, made a bit of an impression on me. She shared some insight about content creation and what it’s like being behind the screen. I really appreciated how she explained that creators who genuinely enjoy making their content will always put that love and effort into whatever they post which will then reflect into how consumers receive it. I wholeheartedly agreed with that statement. There are so many creators that almost make it obvious that they are only making certain content for the views or the money. It’s far more enticing in my opinion, to watch content that I can actually relate to, that isn’t scripted and that is as authentic as possible. Now, when I watch content online I can feel when it’s real and honest which only makes me want to watch it more.