Content Creation is an Increasingly Aspirational Career Path, Says Pulkit Trivedi

Gen Zs are emerging not just as content consumers, but as powerful cultural and economic catalysts. At 377mn strong, they are India’s largest demographic cohort. Their spending power, currently at $860bn, is projected to more than double to $2trn by 2035.

What sets them apart is their desire to show up as their real selves. This is leading to a shift away from performance and perfection, toward platforms and content that feel more personal, authentic and rooted.

As a result, they’re building communities based on trust and shared values giving rise to a more inclusive and decentralised creator economy, where influence isn’t limited to metros or celebrities, but is emerging from small towns, regional voices and niche interest groups across India.

Content creation is an increasingly aspirational career for India’s youth. What’s fuelling this shift is not just the scale of the internet but the democratisation of platforms, which allows creators from all corners of the country to find their audience, tell culturally rich stories and monetise their work.

Indian Gen-Z creators are embracing this space in a way that’s rooted in authenticity. They're not just chasing trends, they're building communities by sharing stories that feel real and relatable.

It’s not just about influence anymore—it’s about impact, individuality and expression. And for Gen Zs, that’s especially powerful. As the creator economy matures, we’ll likely see even more infrastructure, monetisation models and support systems emerge to help young Indians turn content creation into a sustainable profession.

What’s thriving today is content that feels real, is rooted in culture and offers moments of engagement, not just entertainment. This content fosters expression and a sense of community.

Take creators like Nitanshi Goel, Amulya Rattan or Bhupinder Kaur. On other platforms, their content might be more produced or stylised. But on Snapchat, they’re posting multiple times a day, sharing

spontaneous chats, behind-the-scenes moments and glimpses of their everyday life. It’s these unfiltered slices of reality that foster genuine engagement.

Even cricketer Arshdeep Singh is leaning into this behaviour. While his posts on other platforms focus on professional cricket, on Snapchat he shares funny moments with teammates and personal life updates. Despite having a relatively smaller following, his content sees a high number of shares and engagement because it feels real, and audiences respond to that.

Then we have Diljit Dosanjh, who is a huge Snap fan and his commentary on daily life, regular updates, POV-led content is so enjoyable for his growing community. Similarly, Gen Z’s current hot favourite Karan Aujla, shares some exclusive content on Snapchat, which you won’t see anywhere else.

We also see genres like comedy, beauty, fashion, daily life vlogging, pop culture, motivation and inspirational content that resonate with Gen Zs.

AI is fundamentally reshaping content creation making it faster, smarter and more accessible. It’s helping creators focus more on storytelling and less on production.

Snapchat’s AI-powered Lenses, like Me in 60s, My 3D Avatar and Giant Cat AI, allow users to generate transformative visuals in seconds, making content more personal, fun and shareable. Our My AI chatbot is another example. It’s not just a helpful assistant, it’s becoming part of how people explore the world and even shape their stories online.

We’re also seeing AI fuel the AR [augmented reality] creator ecosystem where Lens creators are using AI-powered tools in our AR platform, Lens Studio, to streamline their workflows and push creative boundaries.

Whether it’s generating assets faster or designing more immersive experiences, AI is acting as a creative collaborator.

At Snapchat, safety and privacy are not add-ons; they are foundational, built into the platform through strong safety-by-design and privacy-by-design principles.

Over the years, we’ve introduced dedicated features that have led to a space where Snapchatters can be their raw, real and creative selves, while staying safe. This includes default settings like strict contact controls, delete-by-default messaging and location sharing turned off by default.

Our privacy-focused features such as disappearing content and limited exposure to unmoderated material help minimise risks, while giving users control over their experiences. We’ve also partnered with Young Leaders for Active Citizenship to help educate our community about online safety and responsible digital behaviour.