Emma Chamberlain: Influencer or Celebrity?

Emma Chamberlain, perhaps Gen Z’s most popular influencer, rose to fame around 2016 after creating her YouTube channel at just 14 years old. After steadily gaining more followers and subscribers, she hit one million at the young age of 16. She then dropped out of high school and moved to LA to further pursue her career in YouTube.

Fast forward to 2021, where Emma Chamberlain hosted the Met Gala carpet. Emma was invited to host the red carpet for Vogue. Although other popular social media influencers like Addison Rae and Dixie D’Amelio showed up to the carpet, Emma Chamberlain was unique because she did not receive a negative media response: Most people on the Internet said that influencers like Addison and Dixie do not belong at the Met Gala, but I have seen no comments about Emma Chamberlain being there.

I myself am a Chamberlain fan. I have been watching her YouTube for the longest time (about six years) and keeping up with her on Instagram and other social media platforms, but here is what I’m confused about. Emma has stopped posting regularly on her YouTube, when previously she posted once a week. However, she still attends major fashion shows, records her podcast, appears on the red carpet and does photo shoots for magazines like Vogue, Bazaar, and Forbes. In my opinion, Emma is attempting to make the transition from influencer to celebrity. What’s the difference, you may ask? Aren’t they the same thing? Although the two terms are quite similar and share many of the same duties, I believe that there is a distinct difference. The main priority of influencers is posting about their life, whether that be on YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram. They make a living off of their personal and intimate lives, while celebrities tend to make their living off of showing off small portions of their life. The key difference in my opinion is that influencers show their lives and celebrities show off their lives. Influencers make their living off of showing their day to day lives, morning routines, what they eat, and where they shop. Celebrities, on the other hand, lure people in because of their ability to keep mostly private, despite a few little hints here and there. Differences also lie in jobs: the jobs of influencers are jobs that are pretty much just posting on social media, while celebrities range from actors, to make-up artists, to even interior designers. There have been rumors circulating in the entertainment industry that Emma will be directing an upcoming feature film, and many social media users have something to say about what appears to be a transition into the celebrity world. Some miss her regular YouTube videos and think that she should go back to posting, while others understand that social media was more of a stepping stone for her, to be able to go into bigger and better Hollywood-industry jobs.

In my opinion, I don’t think what she’s doing is incorrect, but I do think that she should have done it a little bit differently. While it seems like she’s attempting to simply fade out of the influencer industry, I think it would’ve been better to give her followers an official statement about when, why, and how she plans to make this transition. A lot of her fans, including me, honestly feel a little bit hurt that she just decided to abandon her influencer career. But at the end of the day, I hope that Emma finds what she loves to do best and continues to bring positivity and comfort into the world.