A few days after the Grammys, a seemingly random man filmed himself in his Amazon delivery truck after completing a delivery. He flexes in the camera, exclaiming that he won a Grammy. The man’s name is Joey Hamhock, and whether you recognize that name or not, the reality is that even award-winning producers have everyday jobs, something the general public might not have known without TikTok and other social media apps.
This is not to say that it’s not normal for successful people to have side hustles. In fact, with the current cost of living on a sharp incline, it makes sense that even famous people have to do odd jobs on the side to make ends meet. What’s different about this situation is that we, the public, are seeing this happen in real-time.
Social media shows the day-to-day lives of anyone with a platform and bridges the gap between celebrities and normal people. By closing that distance, social media is changing what it means to be a celebrity, as regular consumers are witnessing that even famous people need to work side hustles. Before, we might get behind-the-scenes details of a celebrity’s life in an exclusive interview for a magazine. In that instance, the content is heavily edited and curated to fit an idea. Nowadays, a casual fan might open their TikTok to see the rough, unedited details of the life of the producer of their favorite song. When else in history have we ever had so much access to people we look up to?
The answer is never. For better or for worse, social media has given anyone who cares a direct peephole into the lives of people they might otherwise never know. Without TikTok, maybe no one would have known that this award-winning producer delivers for Amazon on the side. Now that the general public has this information expect a big change in how consumers interact with celebrities and media previously enjoyed.
