Dave Portnoy expresses skepticism about the legitimacy of influencer music careers when creators rely heavily on social media reach rather than traditional industry routes.

“you took uh I don't want to say shortcut but it's a shortcut using The Tick Tock but I mean anybody would and you can still sing so I guess the question is like that's a youth thing to me like I gotta prove to like experts yeah who [ __ ] cares”

The speaker feels that being an influencer creates a sense of guilt when compared to traditional jobs like those held by her parents.

“And I feel guilty sometimes just with I mean, you know how it is the money that you make as an influencer or like in this industry and then I see my [ __ ] six-year-old dad like still working. I'm like >> what the [ __ ] It puts you in like this weird existential crisis.”

The speaker finds the influencer industry difficult because it often feels disconnected from real work, leaving her questioning her sense of purpose.

“like going to like an event for like a hair care brand. Like sure I can make a real but that takes me like two hours in my day and then the other hours I'm like d like what's my purpose? What can I do? Or like what can I do to make it feel like work to me where I feel like that sense of like selfwor”