"My most-viewed video has 120 million. It was disgusting! I was shoving garlic up my nose and 120 million people saw that!"
Student Lauren Whelan is a TikTok star with 1.5 million followers
*To hear an exclusive interview with Lauren, scroll to the bottom of the page
Twenty-year-old Lauren Whelan from Carlow town is a young woman of her time.
A media and PR student in IT Carlow, she has a parallel career as a TikTok star. The social media platform where punters post short videos of themselves singing, dancing or just goofing around has catapulted her as an influencer. She has 1. 5 million followers so she can command handsome sums from leading brands to endorse them and makes a tidy income from her on-camera antics.
TikTok appeals to all age ranges and is the fastest growing social media app right now.
College Life catches up with Lauren in the IT campus and asks her about being a TikTok video star.
Lauren: TikTok is great fun and is very easy to use. I have a very creative mind so I like making things. I love being in shows and I used to do a lot of theatre when I was younger. I used to do gymnastics so I was always in competitions. I always loved performing so it’s like that, except on a different scale
I like to do a lot of skits (funny videos) that people can relate to because they get the most likes and engagements. If someone can relate to it, they’re more likely to click on it.
Elizabeth: In the summer of 2020, some media mogul came up with the idea of corralling a herd of influencers together and getting them to live together, to share idea and come up with some top content for their social media platforms. Lauren was one of the chosen ones and spent four months living with up to 20 people in the so-called TikTok house. So, how was it?
Lauren: It was basically about bringing a load of creators together. We had TikTokkers, YouTubers, or people who were primarily on Instagram. We had a whole team of videographers, photographers and people like that. We were all brought together and we were together for about four months. It was hard to deal with, to be honest! I don’t think I’d do it again. Living with so many people – I think there were up to 25 people there at one point but there was always so many people there all the time – we never had any privacy, so that was a big issue.
Being in a content house like that means that you feel like you have to work 24/7 because you’re in that environment. It’s like never leaving your office. I felt like I could never really relax. There were fights, too, but it was like fighting with your siblings because you’d be so frustrated at times. It was a great experience but I don’t think I’d do it again!
Elizabeth: Lauren has a massive following of loyal fans. But while there are those who genuinely enjoy her funny videos, there are also the trolls who make nasty comments about her. How does she cope with the keyboard creeps?
Lauren: I honestly take ‘hate’ as a compliment at this point. When loads of people follow you and like you, there’s always going to be a certain amount of people who don’t like you. You know when you have haters that you’re doing something right. I have a certain amount of people who will always – every single day – message me. I’m like ‘Jeez, you must be obsessed with me! I’m quite flattered that you feel the need to comment on me every day. That’s the way I twist it.
Elizabeth: Lauren was born and raised in Carlow and is the daughter of Lesley Dowley and Padraig Whelan. What do they think of her work with TikTok?
Lauren: They think it’s unreal! I mean, I’m working from home, I do what I want and I’m working on my own terms. They’re very proud of me! They’re very supportive of me.
They’re always telling me to be careful with what I post on line but I’m very aware of that myself. I’m very aware of the fact that whatever I post will be on line forever. That no matter how many times you delete it, it’ll be there somewhere on the internet. I’ve always been sensible about things like that.
Elizabeth: Because social media doesn’t have an off button, being a TicTok star is relentless. There’s a constant demand to post videos, several times a day, seven days a week. Does being a full-time student in IT Carlow help her with her work/life balance?
Lauren: I post three times a day on TicTock and every second day on Instagram. It might be a hair tutorial or a make-up tutorial. It might mean that I have to go out and take pictures or change my clothes, there’s a lot of preparation to it. I find that being in college all day helps to balance it out a bit.
Elizabeth: Lauren earns money from her work on TikTok but is reluctant to reveal how much she gets from the brands that she works with. She does say, however, that she’s better value to advertisers than television.
Lauren: I’ve done brand deals with companies like Beauty Bay, Motel Rocks, Subway, Kooka Noodles and Samsung. At the beginning, you get free stuff and you think, ‘Oh my God!’ and you post about it but now, at the point that I’m at and the followers that I have, I’m probably better than marketing on television. The reach that I can get is way more than someone paying for a television advertisement would get. You can imagine how much brands would pay for television advertisements so I don’t do anything for free.
On TikTok I have 1.5 million followers but I don’t get 1.5 million views every time. My videos average at around 300,000 views each but sometimes things go viral. One recent video got eight million views. My most-viewed video has 120 million. It was disgusting! I was shoving garlic up my nose and 120 million people saw that! (Laughs heartily!)
Elizabeth: So how does Lauren handle fame? Is she recognised in the corridors of IT Carlow or on the streets of her hometown?
Lauren: People wouldn’t come up to me in college anyway! People are really nice but sometimes if I’m out and about, people might come up and tell me that they love my videos. Sometimes younger kids might want a picture or something but it’s on nights out that I mostly get harassed and it can get a bit overwhelming. But it’s fine because I love it. The thing is, I’d be nothing without the people who follow me so I’m very appreciative of them. I’m more than happy to talk to them. Everyone is genuinely lovely to me.
Elizabeth: What are Lauren’s ambitions for the future?
Lauren: I’d love to go into television, especially presenting television. I’d love to present something like Dancing with the stars but to keep doing my content as well. I’d love to get out of Ireland and move abroad. I’d love to move to London when I’m finished college.
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