It’s no secret that the job market is bleak – it seems there are more unemployed youth than opportunities. However, the youth of 2022 are no longer sitting around waiting for opportunities, they are creating them.
Social media has become a viable career option for many young people. The digital space has created jobs that were non-existent a decade ago.
Platforms such as TikTok have created opportunities for Mzansi youth and they are owning their chosen career paths.
TikTok has become a powerful tool for redefining the world of work, and a stepping stone to opening opportunities to enter into collaborations that have the potential to be lucrative.
As we celebrate Youth Day, a few digital content creators, who are doing the most with their talents and creativity on TikTok, opened up.
In may, TikTok rising star Banele Ndaba aka Moghelingz was named Content Creator of the Year at the Clout Africa Awards 2022.
The Standerton-born star makes content about everyday stories, reminiscing about the childhood of an average black South African.
His most viral video was when he mimicked how school kids used to behave when they were involved in a fight. That video is sitting on 4.1 million views.
Speaking about their recent accolade and what it means to them as a South African youth, Moghelingz shared with IOL Entertainment that the award was life-changing.
“Winning such a big award really is life changing, getting recognition and being celebrated from such big platforms is truly a validation to say, ‘you’re doing a great job’.
“As a South African youth this means bigger opportunities opening, we’re not just creating content but we’re opening up the new industry to upcoming young South African creators.”
@moghelingz Thank you guys once again 😂🏆 let’s keep on pushing ✨ I love you #moghelingz ♬ Beats - Crazy Muziq
Being a content creator, especially on a platform such as TikTok, opens up numerous opportunities.
Moghelingz shared: “There truly are opportunities in the content creation space and it’s not even a tricky industry to pursue. All you have to do is just tell your story and be authentic in it.”
Every journey is not without its lessons, throughout his journey he has learnt that “patience, persistence and perseverance will get you where you want to be".
Chad Jones is another content creator making waves.
The platform has opened up doors for the Gqeberha dancer and he even managed to quit his 9-5 software developer job to pursue content creation full-time.
The 26-year-old dancer's amapiano dance videos, with his parents dancing along, quickly went viral with the Joneses gaining 1.4 million followers on the app.
Thanks to TikTok the dancer featured on SABC1 reality show “Dance Yo Dumo” as a dance master. He credits this as one of his highlights on his journey but this is not his only highlight.
“The highlights of being a content creator for me definitely has to firstly just being recognised by influential people that I look up to and am fans of (artists, actors and influential personalities).
“Other stand out highlights definitely have to be being booked with my family to perform together at a Live event for Standard Bank,” he said.
Having always sat behind a PC as a software developer, the show opened doors for him to now work on a huge production set.
“Now I’m interacting with the camera and working with so many awesome and talented people so it was very different to what work I used to do and it is amazing that I had this opportunity. Being a part of this show has also taught me a lot in terms of dancing,” he said.
Not only has Jones been exposed to a new world, working on TV also he has gotten the opportunity to work with campaigns with some of his favourite brands and not just small brands.
"In working on campaigns with these brands I also get to meet and work with a lot of wonderful people which I think is the greatest opportunity – creating awesome relationships with people around my country,” he said.
@chadjones957 Mums turn 😏🤌🏼😮💨 #trend #trigger #dance #amapiano #uJonesFam #fyp #fy #tiktoksa #DiMumzo #vibes #danko ♬ Trigger (feat. BL Zero, Lebzito & Prime De 1st) - DJ Karri
Saul Moross, Content & Media Partnerships Lead for TikTok in Africa, shared that “the youth in South Africa have an innate determination to want to move forward and bring about change in many different areas of society”.
“As a global platform, we are always looking for initiatives to empower this determination and help content creators to capitalise on the burgeoning digital economy by optimising their talents and creativity.”
As the world changes, platforms such as TikTok, show that being digitally savvy can be beneficial not just for helping your parents navigate but also to create a viable career option for the youth.