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'Social media can be really toxic, most of it is fake', says UAE-based content creator Zubair Sarookh

Navigating fake followers, chasing algorithms, fighting trolls and more, the YouTuber opens about the dark side of being an online personality

The rise of individuals with personal brands and online following has been an unparalleled trend in the digital era. While the trend has exploded due to several factors, such as the rising consumption of digital media and technological advancements that have made it easier to create and share content, it has also shaped a whole new industry that now operates as part of the creator economy. “As the ecosystem grows, the total addressable market of the creator economy could roughly double in size over the next five years to $480 billion by 2027 from $250 billion today,” cites a 2023 research report on creator economy from Goldman Sachs.

While content creation has now found its footing in the mainstream, there was a time not so long ago when ways to earn a livelihood from it weren’t chalked out as they might be now. Zubair Bin Jaafar Ba’oom, now 27, started his content creation journey back in 2014, with very little certainty of what the field would entail. Little did the 18-year-old Zubair know that content creation, which started out of mere boredom for him, would shape up to be a full-time career path nine years down the line. One that not only pays his bills, but also gets him millions of views and love pouring in from across the country, when fans recognise him as Abu Zubair, one of his characters, on the streets.

If we rewind a little, his love affair with social media, “was a total coincidence,” mentions Zubair. “I was bored with my friend and decided to make a video. We recorded a simple video of me asking a trick question to my friend and the video got over three million views by the end of the week,” says Zubair, who draws in millions of views for his comedy sketches that showcase life in an Arab country with a unique spin, across YouTube and Facebook. However, the content creator admits that contrary to his onscreen personality, he wasn’t always a confident kid growing up.

“Forget picking up the camera, looking at the camera used to make me shiver. Standing in front of five people and speaking would probably make me sweat and hide under a blanket,” says Zubair. “Being in front of the camera has really helped me gain confidence. If someone told me 10 years ago that I’d be this confident in the future, I would’ve never believed them.”

For the few people (living under a rock) who haven’t come across his videos, Zubair would pitch himself as “A content creator, who likes to put a smile on people’s faces. Some people like my videos, some people don’t like my videos. Take what you like from me and ignore what you don’t like. It’s as simple as that.” But can he also retain this unperturbed mindset when it comes to facing trolls on social media? “Trolls don’t bother me, I ignore them,” says Zubair. “People who I don’t know, who don’t put bread and butter on my table don’t affect me. Ignore them always.”

Another thing the content creator is clear on is that he doesn’t want to be identified as solely an influencer. “Not every influencer is a content creator,” insists Zubair. “But every content creator is an influencer.” When explaining the difference between the two, he breaks it down as, “There are certain ‘influencers’ on social media who don’t create any content. Whenever they post something, it’s usually photos of themselves or their lifestyle. And that is not called content creation,” argues the content creator, known popularly as Zubair Sarookh on social media (Sarookh denotes ‘rocket’ in Arabic). “I don’t want to throw shade at anyone but this is what I believe.”

Starting out, his parents took a little while to adjust to his new-found calling, especially when it came with the cost of quitting his stable and secure 9-5 job, which guaranteed a paycheck at the end of each month. “My parents were not supportive initially. They thought I was crazy.” His father is from Yemen, while his mother is Indian and while he grew up with diverse views being a mixed-race child, the cultural sensibilities regarding career choices were still very similar, says the Sharjah-based content creator.

“I went ahead, I took risks, and it paid off. Alhamdulillah, I will never look back and regret my decision,” adds Zubair, who quit his full-time job during the pandemic to give content creation a fair chance. “If money is coming in, my parents are happy. But they’d still prefer me to do a nine to five job because this field is unstable. There is always competition, someone new coming in every day. It doesn’t provide a stable income,” says Zubair adding that as is the case with the gig economy, there’s always a sense of financial uncertainty.

However, money does come in through content creation, says the social media star, who now has over 600,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel. “You can make a lot of money but you need to have connections and people need to know that you’re in the market,” he adds. “YouTube is the best if you want to make money through your own content without promotions. I don’t see anyone taking YouTube’s place. If you have millions of subscribers on YouTube, you can become a millionaire very quickly,” says Zubair. “Facebook pays now but not as much as YouTube. TikTok and Instagram don’t pay but you can make money through sponsored posts.”

While Zubair’s outlook on what he does for a living might be simple, the realities of having a profession based out of social media is far from it. On a daily basis, when algorithms are constantly changing online, content creators needs to adapt, reinvent and find ways to keep themselves motivated and relevant through a process that can be creatively exhausting. “Social media can be very toxic if you don’t control yourself,” Zubair confesses.

“For example, there was a time when I’d get depressed if I didn’t get a certain number of views, and it started to affect me mentally, I was not able to sleep at night, it was terrible,” says the YouTuber. “But then I slowly tried to make myself understand that what is meant for me will come my way and this is part of life. Sometimes, you’ll get good views, sometimes you’ll not. There are good days and bad days. You shouldn’t let it affect you personally.”

There are definitely days where there’s little to no motivation to create content, says the social media star. “This happens probably once or twice every week. Ups and downs are a part of life. Sometimes, you feel super motivated and sometimes you just want to quit everything and run away.” When asked what instigates this feeling, Zubair responds saying, “It can be many things, such as stress, pressure. At times, you’re just fed up. I’ve been doing this for nine years. Trying to come up with new ideas and new ways to reinvent myself can obviously get exhausting,” says the content creator. “There are times when your videos don’t do well, they don’t get views. So, you start wondering what’s the point? The pressure to get views and the constant need for putting out new content, can get too much sometimes.”

Especially, when you’re a public figure doing comedy, being expected to always maintain a light-hearted perspective towards life, can also get challenging. “People always think that if you post comedy videos, you’re always happy. That’s not always the case. We feel sad, we feel depressed, we have issues with our mental health. But comedy is the way we cope with it. That’s our escape,” says Zubair.

When asked if seeking validation through content is also part of the problem, the YouTuber responds, “Not really. It’s more about the views than validation.” But can views equal validation? “Views are money, not validation. Sometimes, I don’t get good views on TikTok, which is okay since I don’t make money through the platform. Also, when you put in so much hard work for a video, you want it to reach people.”

As a content creator, one needs to keep up with an ever-changing digital landscape, whilst also remaining true to their own essence as a creative professional. Further to that, each social media platform has a different kind of audience, says Zubair. “My Facebook audience is totally different to my TikTok audience. So, what works on one platform may not work on the other,” he adds. “You need to figure these things out slowly as you go.” The YouTuber also stresses that in the end, “you need to know that everything is controlled. Once you gain popularity and if they don’t like you, they will not support you,” says Zubair. When asked who ‘they’ are, the content creator responds, “the people working for the social media platforms.”

So, while this process of random selection on who gets to succeed on social media may seem like mystery box, the influencer adds, “It’s quite simple. Social media platforms can control your views. They will push who they love and suppress who they don’t want to support. It’s totally controlled.” And it can even be for reasons completely unknown to the content creator, Zubair adds. “Sometimes, it’s not the content creator’s fault but this is how it has always been. The world was never fair. It’s survival of the fittest and even if you’re the fittest on social media, sometimes you won’t survive,” says Zubair. “I can gladly say, Alhamdulillah, I don’t have any connections on any social media. I didn’t get much support initially. I’m solely and only based on my content and the people who love it,” he adds.

According to the content creator, “Majority of what you see on social media is fake.” He continues, “Most of the influencers on social media usually are miserable but they don’t show it. Young people growing up see these perfect lives on social media, men with fancy cars, women with flawless faces and perfect hair. It can seriously depress you if you start comparing yourself to them,” says Zubair. “That’s why consuming a lot of social media is not good. So, just watch my videos and close social media (laughs). Don’t keep scrolling,” he adds.

It’s also a common practice now to pay for fake followers, verification ticks etc., says the YouTuber. So, while you’re competing with the pressures of an algorithm, you’re also up against people who aren’t necessarily playing by the books. “This doesn’t bother me though, I’m not in competition with anyone,” says the content creator. “You can buy fake followers, fake blueticks, but you can’t buy people’s love, I don’t want to take names but there are people on social media with millions of followers but nobody knows them. Nobody recognises them,” he adds. “When I go out, the amount of love I receive is overwhelming. Not just from one age group but across different ages, sometimes kids’ parents come up to me and say ‘my child watches your videos’. That, to me, is real impact. Not the number of followers or verification,” says the YouTuber. “I have survived nine years based only on people’s love. As a content creator, you should just stay focused on that,” Zubair signs off.

somya@khaleejtimes.com