Content creators are moving beyond mainstream social media channels in favour of emerging platforms, according to a new study by the University of Sussex.

Research by the University of Sussex Business School has found that lost revenue, censorship and breaches of privacy are leading popular content creators to lose faith in the channels, such as TikTok and Instagram, that helped them rise to fame.

Three in four content creators believe their business is too dependent on social media platforms owned by big tech, with both audience access and revenue being jeopardised by continual changes to advertising rules.

Dr Hamid Khobzi, Lecturer in Information Systems, at the University of Sussex Business School, said, “The prosperity of content creators and their favoured social media channels go hand in hand. However, recent examples such as changes to Instagram Reels which lost creators up to 70 per cent of earnings per view, and YouTube penalising historic content for profanity, have tested this faith.”

“Established platforms and their shareholders have reason to be worried if influencers abandon them. But around seven in ten content creators don’t know anything about the new tech coming down the line or the opportunities it could open up, he adds.

Khobzi’s team found that advancements promised through Web3, the next-generation internet built on blockchain, stand ready to challenge the dominance of established players, with decentralised platforms offering more control to content creators.

The researchers say we may soon be looking at a much more complex market, full of opportunities and challenges for creators. This will naturally complicate matters for regulators hoping to crack down on a fast-moving and poorly regulated industry.

Censorship was cited as another reason for wanting to abandon centralised channels. Content creators expressed frustration over inconsistently applied moderation rules. This includes disproportionate removals of content published by marginalised groups, such as members of the LGBTQ+ community or people of colour, when they focus on their marginalised identities. Privacy is another concern, with content creators reporting attacks ranging from account hijacking to harassment and stalking.

While the researchers say it’s too soon to predict all the new revenue streams that may emerge through decentralised platforms, some are already experimenting with reward systems using cryptocurrencies.

“The wealth generated by these platforms is shared with users in direct exchange for creating and curating content. This kind of cryptocurrency-based token economy offers hopes of a fairer deal for the creatives that all social media platforms rely on,” Khobzi concluded.