Streaming and content creation are growing career paths. However, many people do not consider those careers to be viable, or even consider them work. This bugged me, to the point of choosing it as a topic to write about in a class. Though my topic stemmed from content creation, I really focused on the concept of work as a whole.

Today, there are three major content creation services. YouTube, owned by Google, is an all-around service that allows creators to live-stream content, or upload recorded and edited content. Twitch, owned by Amazon, is a service mainly focused on live-streams of all kinds. Most often, video games are streamed to Twitch, but there is also a lot of podcast-type content, along with some music content produced on the site. Lastly, TikTok is a mobile app that has steadily grown in popularity since 2019. It allows creators to produce content up to one minute long. This is often times in the form of funny videos and skits that take place in several parts. Though all of these services allow creators to profit from their creativity, they are more often than not seen as non-viable sources of income, nor are they seen as good career paths.

This thinking stems from the misperception of the word 'work'. Work is defined as an activity that a person engages in regularly to earn a livelihood. However, for many, work is something dreaded that is very rare for people to actually enjoy. In fact, the majority of Americans in 2020 either felt no real connection to their job or they felt actively disengaged. This caused a poor work ethic and lower quality work being done.

I also looked into the research done on e-sports and streamers. Most people haven't formed their own opinions of these categories, as there has been very little coverage of either of them. They are growing, but thus far there hasn't been much media coverage of them. E-sports matches have had viewership comparable to that of the Super Bowl in the past, but that is a small beginning to the growth that is expected of the profession. Streamers also have reported working roughly 30 hours per week in front of a camera, plus so much more off-camera, leading their weeks to add up to about 70+ hours in some cases.

These issues can be fixed by a couple of main things. Making decisions that are healthy for one's self is the first step. I realize that this can cause some broken relationships, but if a person truly is making a healthy decision for themselves, it will cause them to reevaluate their values, which may lead to healthy feelings about those now-broken relationships. Furthermore, we need to drop our expectations of people. A 4+ year degree isn't the only thing that can lead to a successful or fulfilling life. A lot of times, people can pursue their passions without that degree. Thus, and lastly, we need to encourage others to do just that. Many of us grew up being told, "You can be anything you want to be." I believe that is true, but they don't tell you how hard it's going to be. So many things can be done in today's world, so passions can almost always be monetized. All people need is a push and encouragement to get through the hard things within their passions in order to make a living from it.

I encourage you to find something that you're truly passionate about, and pursue it. Don't be afraid to tell people that what they think is best for you actually isn't. No one knows you like you, so go out and help yourself. Then, encourage those around you. They need the help just as much as you may. Go be the springboard to launch them into their passions. Because at the end of the day, working within your passion should give you never-ending joy and happiness, and that is something that everyone wants in their lives.