While some people may think being well-known is always rosy, the behind-the-scenes of being a social media influencer gives a glimpse of what it means to be in the spotlight and the challenges you have to wrestle with to stay afloat.

Being in the limelight is known not to be for the faint-hearted, influencers and continent creators deal with more than just psychological challenges but they confront unrealistic standards that they are expected to live up to.

Social media influencer and entrepreneur Wanga Ramuhuyu gets candid about mental health, unrealistic beauty standards and competitiveness on social media platforms.

The entrepreneur says though she has managed to shut off all the negativity and the pressure to compete, she admits that she had struggled with wanting to look a certain way.

“Psychologically, I have managed to block out negativity and the pressure to compete. But at some point, I struggled because I wanted to look a certain way in order to be like other creators in my niche. Being too self-conscious almost made me stop posting on TikTok.”

Asked about what the content creator experiment on beauty standards she said, “It makes a regular creator feel the need to follow FYP trends just to try to get more views. Some creators recreate looks they find on the FYP. Some creators feel compelled to stitch together videos to criticise or give feedback on looks. Some creators tend to shy away from creating videos because they don’t believe they are good enough.’’

While there are negative effects to using social media platforms, TikTok has also shone on promoting mental healthcare.

Speaking about the platform, the entrepreneur said it had played a significant role in her mental health.

“It has undoubtedly been my primary resource recently. This app contributes positively to my mental health. After finding my feet on the app, it adds to my positive energy. I allow myself to go through all the transitions that come with being a creator on TikTok. From scrolling through the FYP, going live, or just simply posting a video, I am able to laugh, cry and simply have fun on the platform. I have filtered the negative words from my feed. So I avoid the negativity that could possibly harm my mental health at any point,” shared Ramuhuyu

TikTok has become a place where a lot of young people can come together to support and educate each other on mental health issues and deal with their symptoms.

The platform has also contributed to the normalisation of previously stigmatised mental health issues