During the past few years since COVID-19 began, the rise of social media influencers and content creators has become a significant trend in Myanmar, fueled by the increased accessibility of the internet and mobile phones. With huge social networking platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube available, people are joining and using those applications daily, consuming content coming globally. The content consumed will have the ability to shape perspectives, lifestyles, trends, and public opinions, leading more people to walk the path of being a content creator or an influencer to experiment with their career, shape their living style, and find out who they truly are by doing what they love. Therefore, influencers and content creators play a huge role in not only Myanmar, but the world’s digital economy and even political activism.

Over the years of being exposed to global trends and culture in social media due to Covid-19; the younger generation of Myanmar has been greatly influenced by popular social platforms. When COVID-19 began, social platforms boomed with different global trends and cultures that spread worldwide, inspiring many youths to participate in these online activities. Over time, these trends and culture online mostly include creating different content, reviewing products, fashion, lifestyle, etc. By 2024, around 33.8% of Myanmar’s population will be active social media users, which is a huge jump compared to previous years. These influencers and content creators appearing in Myanmar mainly come from the younger generation of Myanmar that understands the concept of targeting an audience, allowing them to experiment with multiple activities on the internet, such as setting up their own business etc. ​

The familiarity of the online platform for youths in Myanmar is more likely to bring them to become influencers or content creators. Each individual social media user has their own feed built up on what they likes or would like based on the algorithm of the application. As social media users spend more time watching and scrolling through videos, factors for new ideas are constantly flowing towards their minds. For the youths who are still pursuing their academics, setting up to become an influencer or a content creator is a great form of expressing themselves and allows them to develop a strength for video editing. Despite it being a great opportunity to learn and express, small businesses can be created online which helps them develop work experience and a better understanding of the economy and marketing system. Not only the youths, but even middle-aged people began their entrepreneurial paths by setting up businesses on the Internet as multiple economic opportunities are available. Those businesses are set up to follow the latest trends in the media and use what they know to produce goods and services that meet those demands. The increase of these small businesses that are in need of advertisements makes this a greater opportunity for influencers and content creators to earn money by simply reviewing and promoting the product, causing more people to step up to become influencers.

When a business is established, the main goal of that business is to make maximum profit. A business has to be promoted by marketing in order for it to receive more customers to make an income. For small and medium-sized businesses, marketing by advertisements on TV and billboards can be expensive, especially for businesses in countries such as Myanmar due to hyperinflation. The popularity of social media platforms is growing every day, making it essentially a cost-free alternative for businesses to advertise goods and services by having influencers and content creators post and review the product in exchange for currency or free goods. Influencers that are signed with a business or more, promote the business’s products to their followers. The audience will perceive those goods as authentic and trustworthy products, and even look at it as a personal recommendation instead of a paid advertisement. This is seen as a great opportunity for new, small, or medium-sized businesses and uprising influencers in Myanmar.

To conclude, the rise of influencers and content creators in Myanmar significantly increased during Covid-19. It was not just the majority of the youths of Myanmar, but the middle-aged citizens as well, they were exposed to a digital landscape that allowed them to create new personal expressions, economic growth, and entrepreneurship. Everyone is given the opportunity to express themselves freely and creatively by making videos and uploading them to the media. With popular social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube available, people are able to use these platforms as stepping stones to experiment with their careers, allowing them to build businesses and connect with global trends to help expand their careers. These shifts have provided many people with creative job opportunities along with a productive experience for anyone at any age.

Anika @ A Ka Ye Moe
ASB Green Valley, Thailand

Citations:

Evolving Social Media Landscape: Trends and Usage Patterns in Myanmar. Bagan Vision Institute (BVI). (n.d.). https://baganvision.com/evolving-social-media-landscape-trends-and-usage-patterns-in-myanmar/

Yan, – By          Wai. (2024, March 20). Myanmar Social Media User Data 2024: A comprehensive analysis. Newness. https://newness.com.mm/myanmar-social-media-user-data-2024/

Influencers in Myanmar – top 30 on Instagram and Tiktok. Promoty. (2024, March 27). https://promoty.io/influencers-in-myanmar/