The social media economy benefits few, new book suggests

Fashion bloggers and Instagrammers seem to enjoy a coveted lifestyle, with jet-setting to exotic locales, couture clothing furnished by designers and countless other caption-worthy experiences. Yet the attention lavished on these so-called 'influencers' draws attention away from a much larger class of social media content creators: those who aspire to 'make it' in the precarious, hyper-competitive creative economy, where they find only unpaid work. Brooke Erin Duffy, assistant professor of communication, tells their story in her latest book, -(Not) Getting Paid to Do What You Love: Gender, Social Media, and Aspirational Work? (Yale University Press, June 2017). The book draws attention to the gap between the few women who find lucrative careers in social media and the rest, whose 'passion projects' amount to free work for corporate brands. Duffy's book draws on in-depth interviews with bloggers, YouTubers, Instagrammers and other enterprising women who hope to channel their talents into fulfilling careers via social media. Duffy learned that, often, these young women were motivated by the wider culture's siren call to 'get paid to do what you love.' But their experiences often fell short of the promise; only a few rise above the din to achieve major success, according to Duffy. The rest are unpaid or underpaid, remunerated with deferred promises of 'exposure' or 'visibility' - even as they work long hours to satisfy brands and project authenticity to observant audiences.