Under Pressure: A Netnographic Study of Threats to Influencer and Creator Mental Health

Media reports on toxic influencer culture and creator burnout are growing, but academic literature on influencer and creator mental health challenges remains scarce. The precarity of their work and their need to engage in visibility labor cast long shadows on what is often portrayed as a dream job. This study explores sources of pressure perceived by influencers and creators and threats to their psychological and emotional well-being. By conducting a netnography, the research explores the issue across a wide range of influencers and creators while capturing their emic perspectives. The findings provide a nuanced view on perceived mental health threats and reveal multiple sources of pressure across and beyond the influencer and creator ecosystem. It therefore expands existing literature on influencer and creator vulnerabilities and illustrates the importance of netnographic research for understanding technocultural phenomena

Sunlight exposure exerts immunomodulatory effects to reduce multiple sclerosis severity

Multiple sclerosis (MS) disease risk is associated with reduced sunexposure. This study assessed the relationship between measures of sun exposure (vitamin D [vitD], latitude) and MS severity in the setting of two multicenter cohort studies (n(NationMS) = 946, n(BIONAT) = 990). Additionally, effect-modification by medication and photosensitivity-associated MC1R variants was assessed. High serum vitD was associated with a reduced MS severity score (MSSS), reduced risk for relapses, and lower disability accumulation over time. Low latitude was associated with higher vitD, lower MSSS, fewer gadolinium-enhancing lesions, and lower disability accumulation. The association of latitude with disability was lacking in IFN-beta-treated patients. In carriers of MC1R:rs1805008(T), who reported increased sensitivity toward sunlight, lower latitude was associated with higher MRI activity, whereas for noncarriers there was less MRI activity at lower latitudes. In a further exploratory approach, the effect of ultraviolet (UV)-phototherapy on the transcriptome of immune cells of MS patients was assessed using samples from an earlier study. Phototherapy induced a vitD and type I IFN signature that was most apparent in monocytes but that could also be detected in B and T cells. In summary, our study suggests benefidal effects of sun exposure on established MS, as demonstrated by a correlative network between the three factors: Latitude, vitD, and disease severity. However, sun exposure might be detrimental for photosensitive patients. Furthermore, a direct induction of type I IFNs through sun exposure could be another mechanism of UV-mediated immune-modulation in MS