Rethinking work in the creator economy: Insights from labor process theory

Abstract

While previous research has empirically examined the factors that shape and characterize the social relations in and around work among content creators, a comprehensive understanding of digitally mediated workplace practices in a broader context remains lacking. Drawing on labor process theory (LPT) and supported by existing empirical evidence, I argue that social media platforms create a unique workplace for creators in which algorithms and metrics function as mechanisms of labor control, driving greater productivity while being legitimized within pre-existing societal discourses. Furthermore, I focus on the notion of craft, a central concept in LPT, to explore how social media platforms reshape skill transformation in the creator economy and simultaneously degrade the nature of creative work by imposing specific skills on creators that primarily benefit the platforms. This paper contributes to scholarly discussions on the social relations of work in the creator economy by demonstrating how LPT bridges workplace politics in digital creative labor with the broader context in which the creators’ work practices are embedded.