80 percent of content creators experience stress once a week: Study

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Online music streaming app Spotify released a first-of-its-kind research, ‘Audio: Where Creators Come To Pause,' earlier today. The report puts the spotlight on the daily lives and challenges of India's content creator community, and how they deal with emotions.

The study, conducted with musicians, podcasters and social media content creators in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, presents a comprehensive understanding of creators' mental well-being.

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Nearly 80 percent of the respondents experience excessive stress or pressure in their work at least once every week, reveals the study.

Content creator Dolly Singh remarks, "Nowadays, it's important for creators to realise that we need time to distance ourselves from the screens, from social media and think about how much toll it's taking on our mental health."

Key findings from the research:

There are five main types of challenges that content creators deal with:

Intellectual: The constant need to keep up with changing algorithms and posting frequencies builds high pressure to post content regularly.
Emotional: Negative feedback and comments significantly affect creators' self-esteem, with nearly 40 percent facing ‘fear of the future'.
Physical: Almost 40 percent of creators spend more than 3 hours a day to make content, leading to exhaustion and an adverse impact on health.
Social: Creators face loneliness and isolation within their circles, with nearly 65 percent of them feeling inadequately supported by the creator community.
Financial: Content creation is not always financially rewarding, especially during the early stages.

Creators also shared coping mechanisms and practices, including the pivotal role of consuming audio, to navigate their content creation journey.

The research reveals that audio plays a key role in coping with these challenges with 50 percent of the respondents using music as a coping mechanism. Additionally, 7 out of 10 creators agree that music, podcasts audiobooks and guided meditations help them deal with stress.

For actor and comedian Mallika Dua, "One of my greatest joys in life is music, it's a big part of self-care and my way to gain inner peace. Music is like a person who is always with me in my room, making sure I never feel alone".

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Women creators are feeling overwhelmed

Female content creators are more likely to feel stressed (33 percent) than their male counterparts (20 percent). In lines with the findings of the research, celebrity chat show host and producer Sneha Menon Desai concedes, "If my reel doesn't hit the 10,000 mark then there is a bit of anxiety in me."

A similar pattern is also seen in the creators from the age group of 30-45 years (35 percent) compared to 18-29-year-olds (24 percent).

Nearly 45 percent of the respondents feel that their current coping mechanisms are ineffective and are facing a range of need gaps, including inclusive and accessible support tools like therapy and counselling, and a safe space where creators can have open conversations while being vulnerable and protecting their privacy.

Vasundhara Mudgil, Head of Communications, Spotify India, said, "Content creators are part of an industry where the entry barriers are low, burnout is always just around the corner, and constant comparison with other creators is common. The Spotify study highlights some of the most relevant issues that the creator community in India faces, and the role that audio plays in supporting their overall well-being. Through this initiative, and on-ground sessions with mental health experts, we want to encourage the creator community to see audio, and Spotify, as a place where they can come to pause".

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