One of the more interesting shifts since ~2021 has been the change in perception of the "creator" career arc. It was a viable, and, to some, desirable path a few years ago, thanks to pricy brand deals and a massive, chronically online audience of remote-first workers. But now, it's some mixture of cringe and hollow. Outside of pure entertainment value, the "creator" with no expertise beyond their ability to capture eyeballs just doesn't bring much to the table. Business influencers that don't actually know anything about business, lifestyle "gurus" whose lives are completely detached from those of normal Americans in their audience, etc. Sure, a few folks built massive, sustainable businesses like MrBeast and some of the larger podcast hosts, but any slightly smaller creator whose core value prop is "being a creator" is effectively worthless. The real winners are those who do a "thing," whatever that "thing" is, other than "being a creator," and they have effectively leveraged social media to share their "thing." Too many folks were focused on building an audience for the audience's sake, and not focused enough on doing interesting work worth an audience's attention. Engagement is a dangerous feedback loop.