Platforms that attract young people
Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Anh (26 years old, from Quang Ninh) is working in video editing and design. According to Ms. Minh Anh, work on digital platforms brings flexibility in time and space, but comes with no small amount of pressure.
Unlike office work with fixed income, my income depends on the number of projects received and market demand. At peak times, income increases significantly, but there are also periods of stagnation that make income unstable. My income is also not like office workers who are paid on fixed days every month, but depends on the job I earn, productivity and based on personal brand. There are times when I don't have work for a long time," Ms. Minh Anh shared.
Also according to Ms. Minh Anh, the pressure of freelancers on digital platforms comes not only from income but also from the requirement to maintain efficiency and continuously find customers. To have regular jobs, freelancers must proactively build prestige, retain old customers and expand the new customer base. Not only in terms of income, remote work also sets high requirements for workers in terms of discipline.
There was a period when I worked almost without breaks, because I was afraid of being late for deadlines and losing customers. After that, I had to set a clearer working hours to avoid overload," Ms. Minh Anh said.
Mr. Nguyen Hoang Nam (23 years old, Hanoi), is an affiliate marketing person.
Graduating from a college majoring in marketing, Mr. Nam started working from scratch in the true sense. "Just with an old phone, I film videos evaluating smart household appliances. Rewards from e-commerce platforms help me have a stable income of 15-20 million VND per month without spending capital or warehousing," Mr. Nam said.
According to Mr. Nam, flexibility in time and space is the "magnet" that attracts young people to work on digital platforms when they can work at coffee shops, at home or even when traveling.
Slave" of algorithms and content pressure
However, the "pink color" of the digital economy often comes with gray patches that few people understand. The biggest pressure on young workers making money on digital platforms is the absolute dependence on algorithms. An account with millions of views can "fall" overnight if the algorithm changes or violates vague community policies. To maintain its appeal, young people fall into the vortex of "exhausting" creativity.
If one day we don't post clips, two days we don't broadcast live... the amount of interaction will drop dramatically. The algorithms of the platforms do not allow us to rest. Sometimes I feel exhausted because I have to constantly think of new things," Mr. Nam said.
Ms. Minh Anh said that instability is also a "specialty" of jobs on digital platforms. Due to income without a fixed salary, this month you can earn tens of millions of VND, but next month it may be zero. "If the platform has errors or consumption trends change, you have to start from scratch," Ms. Minh Anh affirmed.
According to Dr. Trinh Hoa Binh - Director of the Center for Social Opinion Research (Institute of Sociology), from a social perspective, young people making money on digital platforms are a group of freelance workers who lack a social security net because they do not have health insurance, unemployment insurance and especially do not have a clear pension roadmap.
By 2026, when this market gradually becomes saturated and competition from AI (artificial intelligence) begins to overwhelm, those who only rely on content "surfing" skills will face difficulties. If there is no financial management thinking and no proactive voluntary social insurance contributions, the glamour in youth may leave a heavy burden when entering middle age," Mr. Binh said.
