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

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

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