Once hailed as the career of the future, content creation is quietly undergoing a reality check. In India, the sparkle of influencer life, with its curated aesthetics, free PR boxes, and algorithm-driven fame, is starting to lose its shine. Behind those flawless thumbnails and energetic reels lies a growing wave of fatigue, burnout, and bank accounts on life support.
More and more influencers, especially the ones in the mid-tier bracket, are walking away from full-time content creation. Why? Because the views are not paying the dues. And as digital platforms get more crowded, brands more selective, and audiences more fickle, creators are choosing something that once seemed laughably boring: stability.
When Followers Don’t Pay The Bills
For all the glam of ring lights and PR hauls, the creator economy in India is standing on fragile ground. According to a 2023 RedSeer report, only the top 1-2% of influencers earn sustainably, with the average nano or micro-influencer (under 100k followers) making less than ₹15,000 a month.
Add algorithm changes, inconsistent brand deals, and the looming threat of shadow bans, and the so-called “freedom of content creation” begins to feel like a high-stress freelance gig with no HR policy, no sick leaves, and no therapy breaks.
What’s worse is the illusion of success: a creator might be racking up lakhs of views, but most brands still pay in “barter” (read: free shampoo). The result? Many content creators are moonlighting as corporate employees, secret consultants, or even tuition teachers, because vibes don’t pay rent.
Even for viral faces, sustaining a full-time career in influencing demands a 24×7 grind, where the “relatable” content often masks late-night editing, post-fatigue, and comparison anxiety.
The Algorithm Is Not Your Employer
You can’t file a complaint against an algorithm for ghosting your content. One day you’re trending, the next you’re just another voice in the digital void. That’s the central anxiety plaguing full-time creators: they’re working 24/7 with no job security, no fixed income, and no idea if the next video will be a hit or a dud.
“On YouTube, Indian creators earn between $0.4 and $3 per thousand views,” says Anirudh Sridharan of HashFame (Mint). “Compare that to global peers earning ten times more, and it’s easy to see why creators here are struggling.” Imagine putting in 30 hours to script, shoot, and edit, only to earn less than a Domino’s delivery boy.
Even creators with decent subscriber bases aren’t spared. Beauty creator Riya Sunny, with over 80,000 followers, recently took a sabbatical after her last four collaborations were all unpaid barter deals. “Brands want me to make five reels, wear their clothes, shoot, edit, and post for free. They say it’s ‘exposure’. I can’t pay rent in exposure.”
Too Big For Barter, Too Small For Brands
In the influencer economy, being in the middle is the worst place to be. Mega-creators get huge campaigns and six-figure payouts. Nano-influencers are cheap, accessible, and deliver high engagement. But if you’re somewhere in the middle, say 50,000 to 500,000 followers, you’re too pricey for barter and too small for ROI-obsessed marketing teams.
Murali Krishnan, CMO of Wow Momo, explains this market behaviour to Mint: “We use a barbell strategy, big spend on celebrity influencers for awareness, and lots of nano influencers for authenticity. The mid-size creators? They’re just not efficient in either category.” It’s a harsh truth: the creator economy is optimised for either stars or sidekicks, with no room for supporting actors.
Even finance creator Ajay Gaba, who had built a loyal audience on Instagram Reels, recently shifted to working as a consultant full-time. “The algorithm changed, my engagement dropped, and suddenly I was invisible to brands. You feel like a ghost in your own niche.”
Quitting the Spotlight
According to Mint, over 2 lakh Indian content creators stopped posting in the past year. While the creator economy still boasts millions of active accounts, this mass logout is a sign of deeper distress, not a trend, but a turning point.
Take Om Suri, the brain behind comedy channel Oye Omi, who shut shop earlier this year. After nearly a decade of making sketches and chasing brand deals, he found himself increasingly saying no to shady promotions.
“A lot of money is in betting apps or crypto trading promotions,” he said. “I refused. And the brands offering good money only go for creators with millions of followers.” Burned out and broke, Suri is now hunting for a writing job.
Then there’s Pooja Verma, a lifestyle creator with 1.2 lakh followers, who went on an “indefinite break” from full-time content after struggling to get paid brand work for months. “After reels, brands now want carousel posts, product photography, and 4K video, all at ₹2,000,” she quipped. “Even my maid doesn’t work at those rates.”
From Content To Corporate
For many creators, the realisation hits hard: content creation is great… as long as someone else is paying the bills. Aashish Gupta, who once made videos full-time, now manages talent for Elvish Yadav. “It’s a fun career in your early twenties,” he told Mint, “but past 25, you can’t live on clout alone.”
Others are using their content skills to shift into adjacent roles, digital marketing, video editing, scripting, and brand strategy. Many report better mental health, a steady paycheck, and the novel experience of having weekends off. As one ex-creator wryly noted: “At least my salary doesn’t depend on whether my last reel flopped.”
This pivot is so common now, it’s almost a rite of passage. First, you go viral. Then, you go broke. Finally, you join a creative agency and write copy for someone else’s reel. Circle of content life.
Mental Burnout Is The Hidden Cost
It’s not just about the money; it’s about the mental toll. Creators report burnout, anxiety, and a constant feeling of being “on display.” There’s no HR department, no off switch, and no way to disconnect when your livelihood depends on engagement.
“You can’t afford to stop,” said Sridharan. “If you don’t post regularly, the algorithm punishes you. But if you post too much, your audience drops off.” Add to that the pressure of being camera-ready every day, dealing with hate comments, and constantly comparing your metrics to others, and it’s no wonder so many creators are quietly spiralling.
Influencer Kritika Jain, who built a 90k-strong following with wellness content, quit after suffering panic attacks. “I was giving life advice in one reel, crying in the bathroom in real life,” she shared on LinkedIn. “It’s not sustainable. You burn out pretending to be inspirational.”
Also Read: Hypocrisy: Cartier Denies Diljit Dosanjh But Lets American Influencer Wear Indian Maharaja’s Legacy?
The Rise Of The Hybrid Creator
Rather than quitting cold turkey, some creators are choosing balance. They’re working regular jobs and treating content as a weekend pursuit, not a full-time grind. Macedon D’mello is one such example. He juggles his digital agency role with dance content on Instagram and freelance voiceovers. “I love creating,” he says. “But I’m not tying my income to it anymore. That’s the difference.”
Brands are beginning to appreciate this hybrid model, too. “Side-hustlers are more grounded,” says Kunal Chhabhria of CollabX. “They’re not chasing unrealistic growth, they’re easier to work with, and their content is often more polished.”
Talent agent Zil Shah adds: “We’re seeing a whole new class of ‘weekend creators’ emerge, they shoot Saturday, edit Sunday, and go to the office Monday.”
In other words, the influencer career graph has gone from full-time passion to structured hobby. And maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
When Logging Off Is The Real Flex
India’s creator economy isn’t dying, but it is sobering up. What once felt like an open playground is now a cutthroat industry. For every creator going viral, there are hundreds quietly quitting, recalibrating, or pivoting to safer gigs. And they’re not doing it because they’ve failed. They’re doing it because they’ve learned: fame is fleeting, but rent is monthly.
In the age of hustle culture, quitting isn’t a weakness; it’s a strategy. And maybe, just maybe, the real flex in 2025 is not going viral, but knowing when to log off.
Images: Google Images
Sources: Live Mint, Hindustan Times
Find the blogger: Katyayani Joshi
This post is tagged under: influencer burnout, indian creator economy, digital fatigue, social media pressure, mental health india, gen z creators, instagram fatigue, content creation struggles, creator mental health, burnout awareness, influencer life india, digital detox, creator economy crisis, india content creators, hustle culture india
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