“Ultimately, authentic content wins”
Chandigarh-based content-creator Vishnu Kaushal, posts funny sketches, pokes fun at stereotypes and turns everyday activities into opportunities for comedy or confession on Instagram (@TheVishnuKaushal) where he has 651K followers.
He’s found that when life is both the muse and the medium, one’s personal, social and work life are especially blurred. If the 24-year-old is on a trip to the hills with friends, all of them might post photos on social media. “But that’s also part of what I do as a content creator,” Kaushal says. He’s often wondering if he’s working or actually taking a break from work.
“The social media ecosystem is new, there are no rules and distinctions,” he says. So he draws the lines himself. This means asking himself if he set out to the hills wanting to make a video in the first place. “You have to sometimes ask yourself how much of that takes away from your human experience.”
Some experiences just happen to make for good material. “I genuinely enjoy creating content with my brother, those are the videos that go viral,” Kaushal says “We can be seen cracking up and just laughing unfiltered in those videos. I don’t edit it out and I suppose that’s why people enjoy my content.” Others are about consciously doing small, meaningful things with people he cares about, rather than forced big-ticket collaborations. Last year, Kaushal launched his merchandise brand Peach By Vishnu, with his best friend from Class 6.
Either way, Kaushal views content-creation, that seemingly endless cycle of planning, filing, editing and uploading material, as a tool of self-expression and self-exploration. “Any creator understands how much thought and critique of your own thought goes into creative work,” he says. “There’s no better way to understand yourself.”
Creating is art. Of course there are moments of self-doubt. There’s no playbook, no approved list of what should be done and how to do it. “If you’re a teen and your video goes viral you don’t know how to navigate that, it affects you psychologically,” he admits. “You won’t know what to do with the hate or if someone says they are in love with you. You have to figure it out for yourself.”
Taking breaks helps. “Not because you want to be famous or more productive, but because you want to be sane, to make art and express what you believe in,” he says. “Often, you end up making similar things as others because that’s what the trend is. On social media, it brings positive reinforcement. But in the long run only authentic and honest content wins.”