New York: For many content creators, building an audience is the ultimate measure of success. But for some, thousands or even millions of followers can eventually become a source of pressure, anxiety and creative exhaustion.
Researchers studying content creators found that the same audiences that helped artists build careers could also leave them feeling trapped by expectations, reactions and constant scrutiny.
Mark, an illustrator with millions of followers, described the conflict during interviews conducted as part of a multi-year research project. He had once dreamed of making a living by creating and sharing art online. But his success eventually made it difficult for him to move away from the type of work his audience expected.
"The thing that I got right, that I loved for the longest time and now has almost become the bane of my existence, is creating relatable comics," he said. "Now, I'm stuck … I would rather die than make relatable comics, but I've built an empire of relatable comics. So what the (heck) am I supposed to do with my life?"
The researchers, who interviewed 54 creators, came to describe this phenomenon as "audience entanglement". It occurs when creators become so psychologically intertwined with their followers that the audience begins influencing not only what they create, but also how they understand themselves and the meaning they derive from their work.
A growing pressure in the attention economy
Content creation has become a major part of the attention economy. Some estimates value the industry at around USD 300 billion, while Goldman Sachs has projected that it could approach USD 500 billion in the coming years.
For many younger people, becoming a content creator has also emerged as an increasingly attractive career ambition. But the researchers found that achieving a large following can bring psychological costs that are often overlooked.
The creators they interviewed included musicians, illustrators, YouTubers and Instagram users from different backgrounds. Many described feeling that they had to present a simplified version of themselves to satisfy their audiences.
One artist said she had to "flatten and suppress her real self" to engage with her followers. Another described feeling like a "crumpled-up ball of paper", while a cartoonist compared her audience to a "chamber of despair".
The researchers found that no particular age, gender, nationality or personality type was immune to the experience.
When praise becomes pressure
Audience entanglement can make creators increasingly sensitive to how their content performs.
Creators described repeatedly checking engagement figures and monitoring comments, sometimes spending substantial amounts of time tracking how their posts were received.
For some, even a single negative comment could have an outsized emotional impact. Selena, an illustrator interviewed by the researchers, said one mean message could "ruin" her week.
But the pressure did not always come from criticism.
Maya, a successful creator, recalled receiving messages from followers saying her artwork had helped them cope with experiences such as death and divorce. Instead of simply feeling rewarding, those messages made her feel responsible for other people's emotional well-being.
"I didn't know how to really hold people's pain in a meaningful way, and I was also getting really deep criticism – and, in a way, I could almost deal with that better than praise. It's just a lot for a person to take on," she said.
For some creators, the result was creative paralysis. The audience that had made it possible to monetise their work could eventually make the creative process feel unsustainable.
Learning to create boundaries
The researchers found that not every creator remained trapped in this dynamic.
Some developed what they describe as "entanglement management strategies". Rather than withdrawing completely from their audiences, these creators established clearer boundaries around how much time and emotional energy they devoted to online interactions.
They also became more deliberate about how they presented themselves online and which expectations they were willing to accommodate.
Charlie, an illustrator, described finding a balance between personal authenticity and understanding what an audience expects.
"There is something about hitting this true internal place, where … some balance between being yourself internally and being yourself externally," Charlie said.
The researchers argue that audience entanglement is not limited to full-time influencers.
Journalists, academics, politicians and other professionals increasingly use online audiences as part of their work. For some, having a large following can even become a measure of professional success.
That means the psychological pressures associated with public visibility could extend far beyond the world of professional content creators.
Most people will never have millions of followers. But even ordinary social media users can experience smaller versions of the same dynamic, from repeatedly checking likes to allowing an anonymous comment to affect their mood.
As online audiences become increasingly important to work and professional identity, the ability to build a following may need to be accompanied by another skill: learning how to live with one.