From Screens to Classrooms: The Rise of ‘Internet Celebrity’ Majors as a Legitimate Career Path
Until recently, being an influencer was not a job, but in the modern era of social media, being an influencer has become an increasingly popular profession among Gen Z youth.
Now, a first-of-its-kind course at an Irish university teaches would-be internet celebrities how to turn their online influence and content on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube into a source of income.
At the Carlow campus of South East Technological University (SETU), Erin McCormick, director of the course, told AFP: “The Internet celebrity business is extremely popular.” The campus is located southwest of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. direction, an hour’s drive away.
The idea for this course came from a summer crash course “Digital Hustle” launched by McCormick, which was taught by TikTok users and attracted 350 applicants from 30 regions.
McCormick has worked as a television producer and director. “The crash course was very popular and we saw people wanting more of it, so we expanded it into a degree course,” she said.
After two years of course development, the four-year bachelor’s degree program in “Content Creation and Social Media” was approved and welcomed its first batch of 15 students last month.
On this state-of-the-art campus, students chat with each other, take selfies and scroll through social media during breaks.
“My friends said I was too talkative, so I thought maybe I could make money doing it, so I decided to try it,” 22-year-old Harry Otif told AFP during a role-playing exercise at a campus television station. courses.”
Most students are already immersed in or working in digital fields and want to expand their tool sets and knowledge, McCormick said.
“You can also try homeschooling, but learning how to connect with your target audience online through practice and theory will have a huge impact on your career,” she added.
Internet celebrity brand building
In 2019, the word “Internet celebrity” was officially included in the dictionary. It refers to people who have become famous through the use of social media. They usually use their popularity to endorse, promote or increase the popularity of products and brands for a fee.
Currently, the most well-known internet celebrities, such as YouTube challenge stunt creator Mr Beast and gaming vlogger KSI, have a large number of fans, and they can make huge profits every time they post a post sponsored by a brand or through brand sponsorship and advertising.
Surveys show that most Generation Z young people born between 1997 and 2012 regard being a video blogger, YouTube blogger or professional streamer as a job.
McCormick said: “Of course people want to make money by becoming Internet celebrities, so we specialize in teaching how to build a personal brand, how to monetize the influence of a large number of online fans, etc.”
Students said they hope the course will help them tap into their interests, such as beauty and fashion, entertainment, social justice and sports.
“I post a lot of the hairstyles I do on TikTok and Instagram, and it would be great to learn how to develop this into a real business,” said 18-year-old hairdresser Favre Akhuzir.
Another student, Marta Hughes Bravo, loves equestrians. She said stud farms are currently recruiting social media-savvy staff.
“Companies are active on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok,” she said. “There’s a girl who works on the farm who’s been doing brand deals. It would be great to know how to do that.”
‘Serious business’
Modules on the degree include the psychology of creative video and narrative, entrepreneurship, celebrity studies, narrative psychology, data analysis and podcast production.
Hughes Bravo said: “Many people think that becoming an internet celebrity is easy, as long as you post a 60-second video on TikTok, but there are many conditions for becoming an internet celebrity.”
Content creation involves “editing, planning, organizing, it takes more time than you think, but people don’t understand that.”
The practical part of the course includes learning how to use a camera and microphone, as well as a work placement.
Another student, Naos Kelly, said: “Having knowledge about influencers, such as how to be comfortable in front of the camera, can help us build confidence in whatever job we end up doing.” She added that becoming a social media Becoming the next big internet celebrity is not my primary goal.
Whether working in front of the camera or behind the scenes, employment opportunities for influencer talent will increase exponentially, McCormick said.
“Influencers posting on social media can sometimes be boring, but influencer marketing is actually a very serious business,” she said.
“Therefore, many Generation Z young people buy a large number of accessories, and these accessories are sold through online celebrities.”
“Now, about 70% of marketers believe that Internet celebrities represent the future of marketing. The government is also using Internet celebrities to spread information. This is also how we enter the market now.” (Fortune Chinese)
Translator: Liu Jinlong
Reviewer: Wang Hao
It’s a job that didn’t exist until recently but becoming an influencer is an ever more popular career path among Gen-Z youth in the modern era of social media.
Now a first-of-its-kind course at an Irish university is teaching wannabe influencers how to convert online presence and content on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube into revenue streams.
“Influencing is something that’s catching fire,” course director Irene McCormick told AFP at South East Technological University (SETU) in Carlow, an hour’s drive southwest from the capital Dublin.
The idea grew out of a summer crash course “Digital Hustle” launched by McCormick that was taught by TikTokers and attracted 350 applicants for 30 places.
“It got amazing traction, we could see the appetite for more, so we broadened it to degree level,” said McCormick, a former television producer and director.
After two years of development the course — a four-year-long bachelor’s degree in “Content Creation and Social Media” — received accreditation and welcomed its first intake of 15 students last month.
On the state-of-the-art campus, students chatted, took selfies and scrolled their social media feeds on smartphones during a break between classes.
“My friends tell me I talk a lot so I thought I might as well make money out of it and try this course,” Harry Odife, 22, told AFP in the campus TV studio during a roleplay exercise.
Most of the students are already immersed in the digital space or working in it and want to expand their toolset and knowledge, McCormick said.
“You can try to learn yourself at home but being empowered with practice and theory about how to connect with target demographics online is going to make a big difference to your career,” she added.
Influencer branding
The term “influencer” was officially added to the dictionary in 2019, and refers to a person well-known through use of social media who uses their celebrity to endorse, promote, or generate interest in products and brands, often for payment.
Now the most prominent such as YouTube challenge stunt creator Mr Beast and gaming vlogger KSI tap vast online audiences, earning huge sums per sponsored post or via brand sponsorships and advertisements.
Surveys consistently show that most Gen-Z youths — those born between 1997 and 2012 — would consider a job as a vlogger, YouTuber or professional streamer.
“Of course people want to make money from influencing, so we look particularly at person branding, how to monetise being influential over large online followings,” said McCormick.
Students said they hoped the course would help them leverage their interests and hobbies which range from beauty and fashion to entertainment, social justice, and sport.
“I post a lot of the hairstyles I do on TikTok and Instagram, it would be nice to have the knowledge to grow that into an actual business,” said Favour Ehuchie, an 18-year-old hairdresser.
Another student, keen equestrian Marta Hughes Bravo, said horse stud farms now seek staff who are social media-savvy.
“Companies are all over Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. One girl who works for a farm has been pulling in brand deals. To know how to do that would be fantastic,” she said.
‘Serious business’
Degree modules include creative video and storytelling psychology, entrepreneurship, celebrity studies, storytelling psychology, data analytics, and podcasting.
“A lot of people think it’s an easy life being an influencer, just posting 60-second videos on TikTok, but there is way more to it,” said Hughes Bravo.
Creating content involves “editing, planning, organising, and so on, it takes up more time than you might think, people don’t understand that quite yet.”
Practical elements of the course include camera and microphone learning, and work placements.
“Having influencer knowledge like how to be comfortable in front of cameras will help us build our confidence, whatever we end up doing,” said another student Naoise Kelly, adding that becoming the next big thing on social media is not her top priority.
McCormick said employment opportunities for influencer talent are multiplying exponentially, either in front of camera or behind the scenes.
“Yes, influencer posts on social media may sometimes be frivolous, but the actual business is not, it is a very serious business,” she added.
“So many Gen Z young people buy a lot of bling, and that bling is being sold through influencers.
“Around 70 percent of marketers now believe in influencers as the future of marketing, governments are also using them to message people, that’s how we access markets now.”