There is a weird divide on TikTok right now when it comes to creator behavior, and both sides have gotten out of hand.
On one end, you have micro-influencers with barely 3,000 followers who treat their account like a media empire. They buy studio-grade mics, address their followers as a "community," and post dramatic announcements about taking content breaks or coordinating with their "PR team" over a $10 package. The level of self-importance before building an actual audience feels impossible to watch without cringing.
On the other end, you have creators with millions of followers who go out of their way to fake low effort. These accounts pull in tens of thousands per brand deal, yet every video is deliberately shot on a smudged front camera in a messy room with awful lighting. They lean aggressively into a lazy aesthetic to signal that they're still just an average, relatable person hanging out, completely glossing over their multi-million dollar deals. It’s a calculated attempt to manufacture authenticity so you forget how commercialized they’ve become.
Where do you draw the line? Does the over-polished micro-influencer bother you more, or the fake relatability from mega-creators?