Since the explosion of TikTok onto the social media landscape, people have been rushing onto the site to create daring, fun, hilarious, and absolutely bonkers content!

Before her rise to TikTok fame, Emma Cassidy, 21, from Cumbernauld, worked as a Superdrug advisor when she first began to upload content onto the popular site. What started as a hobby quickly grew into a following after she began uploading hysterical clips of her daily life. From pranking her friend with terrible birthday gifts to heartwarming videos with her boyfriend. Her videos captured an audience.

Today, Emma has an impressive 230k followers and over 10.6 million likes, and a loyal fan base who follow her along the way. So what is it like being a social media influencer? Is internet fame all it’s cracked up to be? Emma tells us the ups and downs and everything in between of what it’s like being a digital star in the 21st century.

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Glasgow Times:

“It’s hard work! When I first started uploading content, it was easier back then, but when I wanted to grow a following. You need to get up early and plan out what you are posting. I would make four or five videos a day, draft them, and then upload them throughout the day. The best way to get followers is to plan what content you want to create and do Live streams as often as you can so you can interact with your followers and keep them engaged. It’s not easy; you have to put the work in.”

Since she grew an impressive following, her life has changed with people recognising her on the street, with advertisers and businesses sending her gifts and other social media stars reaching out to her for collaborations. And while it's been great seeing those freebies arrive in the post, there is the downside to social media fame, she says.

Glasgow Times:

“If you want to have a massive following, then you have to be strong-minded. A lot of people will get abuse sent to them. It can have a negative impact. People will send you negative comments that are cruel. The way I have dealt with it is by blocking them and ignoring them. If I respond to them, it will make it worse, and then more people will send horrible messages.”

Emma says her experience online has been overwhelmingly positive but, for some of her fellow friends and content creators, the pressure to post and keep people clicking on their videos has been mentally exhausting.

Glasgow Times:

And, despite the occasional trolling, the online starlet says the experience of being a well-known TikToker is really rewarding. “The benefits outweigh any of the risks, and one of the best parts is being part of a community and helping out other people who are starting businesses,” she says.

“When you are getting negative comments, there’s so much support you get, if I have had a bad day when I have not been feeling too good, I will go online, and there will be hundreds of people sending lovely messages. I have made the most amazing friends through social media, and it’s where I met my boyfriend.”

Glasgow Times:

So, what does it take to reach the heights of internet stardom? For Emma, it was not following trends, but creating content that was original, unique, and relatable. And while the experience has changed her life, for anyone looking to follow in her footsteps, she reminds us that while the glory of online popularity can be very rewarding, you have to be prepared for the trolling that comes with it, because in this new age of internet fame everything that glitters is not gold.

You can see Emma's TikTok HERE