“Creator burnout is real”: Risk, responsibility, and un/speakability in the creator economy

Abstract

Social media content creation is often depicted in popular culture as a proverbial “dream job,” marked by autonomy, flexibility, and the potential for self-actualization. Yet high-profile creators have called out the endemic risks of platform-dependent work, including overwork and mental health strain. To reconcile these contradictory narratives, this article examines how creator burnout is articulated across different communicative contexts and creator positionalities. We draw on three sources of data—creators’ self-authored content (n = 58), news media accounts (n = 62), and in-depth interviews (n = 78)—to compare how creators define, attribute, and mitigate burnout. Our findings reveal that creator burnout remains partially unspeakable, shaped by the structural conditions of platform labor, the privileged status of creative work, and entrenched markers of power and social identity. Together, these factors structure who can speak out, how, and to whom. We conclude by reconsidering the politics of risk and responsibility within platform-dependent labor contexts.