Let’s hear how Charlotte became a content creator at a young age!
Adele: Hi Charlotte, you are by far the youngest influencer to ever be on my podcast.
Charlotte Tan: Hello everyone, I’m Charlotte. I was born in 2006.
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Adele: I want to ask how you were breaking into this industry of content creation at the beginning?
Charlotte Tan: So I’m 10 years old and 11 years old from before, I started playing TikTok. Actually, downloading for a long time, I really want to shoot but I dare not take the first step. A friend of mine once said ‘Hey, let’s make a video together’. After uploading that video, I was brave enough to keep making videos and express myself differently.
After that I’m going to start my IG, then I read while reading and after I go home just shoot TikTok like this. Then, sometimes I’ll post it like Instagram photos, and slowly there will be gain followers. It was just the beginning and everything feels, wow so new. It Is very special, I am happy every time I post a picture, I like to find what you like to do. I have also been free just receiving a job like this, just to make a little money.
Adele: How about your parents, what would they think? I’m really curious.
Charlotte Tan: This is because my father still has a traditional way of thinking so he actually doesn’t allow us to have Facebook and Instagram. He didn’t realize I was doing TikTok at first. Afterwards my mother found out, she also doesn’t know I’m a bit famous on TikTok. Even my dad gradually knows he is very proud on the contrary and he will feel that it is actually not bad.
Besides, it’s my favourite, and a little famous so they might think you do something like this, and you got something in return and that is ok. If you do, you may waste your time and your grades will get worse. In this way, they will definitely not support you in doing such a thing. They support me now. I usually need to go to the company but I am only 16 years old and I don’t have a car and licence so they’ll take care of driving me there.
Adele: Parents, I think the most important thing is to see your daughter, she is capable of making good choices and taking care of herself. She knows where her weight is naturally and they will be very supportive. Parents, I think the most worrying thing is that you are being cheated by others. I would like to ask, I am much older than you, when I was 13 or 14, I used to have no Instagram at school. So I’m curious, then when you are at school, your friends must also know that you are an influencer. Does anyone have a different vision, or are there any comments like this?
Charlotte Tan: Because do they know you so when you walk past him, they might look at you or something just want to observe you. They won’t be too much, it won’t seem to talk about you or whisper bad things about you behind your back or something. Once when I was eating, I caught them whispering behind my back. After that they came over and said are you Charlotte, then I said yes. I was also awkward and I didn’t dare to talk more. Then turn back quickly, hurry up and continue eating and then they leave so this doesn’t really affect me much. But of course I hope that since it’s at school, I still feel awkward and I’m having dinner with my friend.
Besides, if it’s about my friends, since I first entered, they’ll be just as curious as outsiders are about what the hell I’m doing. Then I’ll explain it to them, I’ll try to tell them I just want you to treat me like a normal person. Don’t use those weird eyes, don’t take me for an influencer. When I first entered school, I remember I used to have a friend, he liked to call me an influencer and keep reminding me. Just you know some people, they will always call you an influencer but I don’t like it, then I communicated with him and he never called me like that again after that.
Adele: I think that in the end, the most important thing between you and your friend is friendship. Influencers or not, it is a job after all. Then I would like to ask you what do you think are the three most important values for friendship?
Charlotte Tan: The first one I think trust is really important. It is like when you’re on good terms with one person, another person might come in to drive a wedge. Especially at my age, I’m really not just me, my friend.
Adele: No, there are still 30 and 50 years old.
Charlotte Tan: Yes, human relationships are so complicated. like what if this happened to me, I will ask my good friend, he told me like this, is there really such a thing? Or maybe I don’t even ask, I will just trust my friend, he can’t do something like this. This is because I have two best friends of my own, we have communicated a lot, and mutual trust will always increase, you know? Instead of reducing. No matter what happens, I will first ask their opinions, and I just believe and accept their opinions. This is because he will always stand by your side, he will not harm you, so our relationship will be good. If I can’t trust this person, it will be difficult for this friendship to grow.
Yes, for the second point, you need to understand the bottom line of the other party. After you get along, you will also know what the bottom line of the other party is, so you will not step on that bottom line, otherwise it will affect the relationship. I can only think of these two.
Adele: Regardless of age or friendship, in fact, love is okay, family is okay. If you have a sense of trust and you have not crossed the bottom line of the other party, it is actually a respect. Then I think this is really a very powerful point. I really want to ask you, that is, 2022 is coming to an end and you see your growth this year. What do you think are the three things that touch you the most?
Charlotte Tan: This is because I only came into contact with this kind of thing last year, is it out of society? I found a lot of very different things and I also got a lot of help. Of course, I have also grown a lot,including that I am very happy that you found me today because I really like listening to podcasts.
Adele: You’re only 16.
Charlotte Tan: Really, this is my first time out of society, I also feel terrible. Before I left the society, my world was pure because you are 16 years old and you are still studying. You only face these friends and family members every day, so the harm will not be great. Then when you go out to the society, you feel that it is different from what I thought so at first I was a bit of a shock. But because I met these great people, I’m so thankful for them.
The second is to thank the two good friends I just mentioned. I have experienced many things this year, and it just so happens that my two friends have their own concerns. Then it was 16 years old, the three of us were busy this year, sometimes there was a lack of communication and a little bit of arguing. I am also very grateful that in the end, we both spoke out and got to know each other better. So in the end I still got help from the other party, thank you for having them. Otherwise, after something happens, you don’t know how to step out.
The third thing is to be thankful for all the bad things that happened to me. This is because only when these things happen do we learn more slowly from it. Then I grew up even more, although when those bad things happened, I would feel very sad, afraid and anxious. But if you get this out of the way, you will learn more anyway. I think these things are actually good, they are all arranged by God for you to learn, so you can think in a good way instead.
Adele: If anyone really wants to ask you for some advice today, Charlotte, what do you think you would like to tell them?
Charlotte Tan: Don’t forget the original intention. I experienced it this year, and one day I was thinking about how I should choose to make this thing. I started to lose, no matter my grades or my career, I started to get confused. So I’ve become totally depraved, I know I’ve forgotten my original intention. Then in the end I asked myself, you have to understand why you made this decision in the first place. You want to go back and find that enthusiasm, and then you can continue to start slowly.
Adele: Actually I think we don’t let your emotion take over, you have to keep going with emotion. If you stop moving, you just keep falling. Coming to the last question, I have no friends younger than 20 and what are your interests? I’m just curious, you just talk about Podcasts and what kind of podcasts do you listen to?
Charlotte Tan: The podcast is just me listening. To be honest, none of my friends. I prefer some psychology podcasts.
Adele: What about ordinary people, your friends?
Charlotte Tan: Basically all my friends use TikTok and Douyin, as long as they have free time, they will turn on the phone to swipe and hands are always like this. This must be common, except for the phone, shopping or some people just play games or watch movies. There are quite a few people around me who know how to work and study. As long as they have free time, they will find a way to make a little money.
Adele: Yes, I also started doing part time at the age of 16 and 17. I think Charlotte you are really great. I really want to thank you very much, thank you for your time, just rushed over after school. Chatting with you today also made me feel very young suddenly, it reminded me of me when I was 16 or 17. If you like this Podcast, remember to share it. Then you can follow Charlotte, you can DM her and comment on her. I’ll see you guys in the next one, bye.
If you wish to check out the entire podcast in video form, watch it below!
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