Break time: online stars burning out
TORONTO — Lilly Singh is the latest YouTuber to say she’s taking a break from the platform to focus on her mental health.
The Toronto-based creator, known by her nickname “Superwoman,” released a video on Monday telling her viewers she is “mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted” by the pressures of churning out content.
“I’ve been doing YouTube consistently for eight years,” she said, pointing to her twice weekly videos and regular blog posts.
“I love it, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s been a lot.”
Singh, who has nearly 14.5 million YouTube subscribers, said she isn’t “super happy” with some of the videos she’s made to keep pace with expectations on YouTube.
“It kind of is a machine,” she said. “And it makes creators believe that we need to pump out content consistently, even at the cost of our life and our mental health and our happiness, because if you don’t then you’ll become irrelevant.”
Other creators have addressed their own mental health challenges, saying they worsened with the crush of demands that come with being a YouTuber.
Ottawa-based Elle Mills published a video called Burnt Out at 19 in May, after saying the pressures of being a successful YouTuber led to panic attacks.
She eventually returned to posting videos about a month after signing off.