Content Creation as a New-Age Entrepreneurial Career: An Empirical Investigation of Digital Creators in Urban India

creator economy, digital content creators, mental health, monetization, platform algorithm, urban India, creator burnout, influencer economy, micro entrepreneurship

The creator economy has emerged as one of the most consequential structural transformations in contemporary labour markets, repositioning content creation from a peripheral digital activity into a formally contestable entrepreneurial career. This study presents findings from a comprehensive, mixed-methods, cross-sectional survey of n = 550 urban Indian digital content creators conducted between 2025 and 2026. Participants were recruited from YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp creator communities, and peer-referral networks across 18 Indian cities using purposive-plus-snowball sampling. The survey instrument comprised approximately 95 items across ten thematic sections (Parts A–J), deploying Likert 5-point scales, 7-point semantic differentials, Borda-count motivation rankings, ordinal income intervals, dichotomous screeners, and open-ended qualitative items. Key findings reveal a pronounced financial viability gap: 51.4% of creators earn below ₹15,000 per month, with only 14% achieving income above ₹75,000. A severe burnout epidemic is confirmed, with 52.7% of respondents reporting frequent creative exhaustion (E1 ≥ 4), significant across career types (one-way ANOVA: F = 3.279, p = 0.038). Algorithm anxiety (E8: mean = 3.39/5) and performance pressure (E2: mean = 3.48/5) emerge as the leading psychological stressors. Market saturation is acutely perceived, with discoverability loss scoring highest (F3: mean = 3.65/5) and AI disruption anxiety reaching 61.8% high-concern prevalence (F7). A critical institutional vacuum is evidenced by a 71.1% policy awareness deficit, alongside strong creator demand for MSME legal classification (I3: mean = 3.67/5) and a National Digital Creator Association (I6: mean = 3.55/5). Tenure significantly moderates saturation perception (r = −0.116, p = 0.006), while niche selection demonstrates measurable income differentiation, with Parenting (mean ordinal = 4.16) and Finance (3.84) outperforming Fitness (2.85). The study advances the concept of "Algorithmic Micro-Entrepreneurship" (AME) as a theoretical framework and offers six evidence-based policy recommendations for government, platforms, and civil society.