The Frustrations of a South African Content Creator!
We’re all in agreement: Load shedding is the villain we collectively love to hate. It’s the emotional bad guy we bond over, the one thing that unites us as South Africans.
And boy oh boy, does it love to drop in unexpectedly, like that unwelcome guest who never brings snacks.
Picture this: you’re knee-deep in a virtual battlefield, dominating worlds, and then bam! Darkness strikes BECAUSE you forgot to check your schedule or it was ramped up at the last minute, turning your gaming haven into a shadowy nothingness.
This got me wondering, how do part-time streamers work around working and load shedding… are they sacrificing sleep?
Now, I’m no expert, but as a part-time streamer and full-time workerholic, how do other streamers juggle it all? Because I am really struggling!
The pressure of fitting in a stream before the power goes off can somedays feel like Jumanji to me.
That constant fear: will anyone even watch my stream when they’re struggling with their own load of load-shedding, will the viewers return if I skip a week of streams…am I a reliable streamer? Will my view count ever recover if this keeps on happening?
These are all very negative thoughts I struggle with daily and I’m wondering if others feel the same way…
It’s like throwing a party in a power outage – not the most confidence-boosting thing you can do, especially for those of us who are still slowly growing or just beginning as streamers.
For the many-many streamers whose streams aren’t just about entertainment but also a lifeline of income, load shedding isn’t just a final boss – it’s a daily stress test. It’s not just the threat of losing potential monthly income; it’s the worry about being able to pay monthly bills if you fail to meet the platform’s criteria.
Now, let’s get honest for a few seconds, I personally feel that load shedding leads to my loved one’s depression. As a part-time content creator, life has a unique way of getting you down when the power goes out. Long days, mood swings, and constant worry about if it’s even worth being a creator in SA.
Coming home not able to switch on the kettle or entering your room and there are no lights, can be demotivating, leaving you somewhat lifeless…right?
And who would be motivated to create any content when you’re half convinced the universe is against you at that very moment?
Load-shedding is like an extra side hustle we don’t need and it does not pay, because when you do have power, it’s a mad dash to stream, an impossible race especially if you had a hard day at work.
This can lead to you sometimes canceling streams, as you need to better adult, shower, cook, and clean.
And when you do decide to cancel the stream you somehow end up disappointing yourself even more or start wondering if you disappointed the faithful few who were ready to cheer you on.
Adding more trouble to the already difficult months for many streamers, it can also be extremely expensive to some, you would think that you would be saving more money on electricity, however, when the power is off between 18:00 – 20:00 pm it’s easier to go and buy already made warm food, rather than cooking or waiting for the power to come back on for cooking.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom… as my grandmother would always say, “Try to think of it positively”. ” Less screen time, more bonding time with family”. This does not make her wrong, load shedding can be a sigh of release for parents wanting to get their kids away from their screens.
We gamers might not like to admit it but less screen time gives us more time to be responsible and sleep… I know-I know sounds boring but am I wrong?
So, my fellow South African streamers sitting without power, let’s keep our little lights shining. Let’s keep the humor alive when it comes to load shedding because if we can find joy in these dark times (literally), there’s no telling what we can achieve as content creators :P
Remember your community loves and supports you when they can, however should your viewership drop because of the load shedding, your fault. Some might just not be able to make it and it’s really important to remember that you shoulding be too hard on yourself.
After all, the streaming community isn’t just a bunch of usernames – it’s a bunch of friends who know that, even in dark times, hope can shine through when we are able to power our PCs :)
Lots of Love
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