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By:

Nilanjana Das

13 December 2025 at 2:23:37 pm

Creator Economy: Influence, Opportunity and Risk

Social media has the power to make or break an issue—and increasingly, it shapes how we think, shop and respond. The frenzy surrounding content creators has swept across the Indian digital ecosystem. Alongside this surge has come an ever-growing audience of consumers who absorb a constant stream of information, often without questioning its credibility or filtering what they consume. Immersed in an endless flow of content, many lose track of both time and context, consuming information...

Creator Economy: Influence, Opportunity and Risk

Social media has the power to make or break an issue—and increasingly, it shapes how we think, shop and respond. The frenzy surrounding content creators has swept across the Indian digital ecosystem. Alongside this surge has come an ever-growing audience of consumers who absorb a constant stream of information, often without questioning its credibility or filtering what they consume. Immersed in an endless flow of content, many lose track of both time and context, consuming information seamlessly and often unconsciously across platforms. We cannot escape the reality that social media has the power to make or break an issue. Much of our daily lives is increasingly shaped by the content we consume online, influencing everything from public opinion and purchasing decisions to cultural trends and political discourse. India's creator economy is experiencing unprecedented growth, evolving from a niche community of YouTubers and bloggers into a multi-billion-dollar ecosystem spanning sectors such as finance, gaming, beauty, food, fitness, travel, and entertainment. Driven by a young, digitally connected population and widespread access to affordable internet, creators have emerged as influential voices that shape consumer behaviour, often rivalling—or even surpassing—the impact of traditional advertising channels. Consequently, influencer partnerships have evolved from experimental marketing initiatives into a core pillar of brand strategy, delivering measurable business outcomes, stronger audience engagement, and impressive returns on investment. In today's highly competitive attention economy, content has emerged as one of the most valuable digital assets. Audiences are increasingly gravitating towards short-form, engaging videos that deliver information, entertainment, and opinions within seconds, prompting social media platforms to continuously evolve and adapt their offerings. Creators who can capture attention instantly and retain audience engagement hold immense value for brands seeking to connect with highly targeted audiences at scale. As consumers spend more time on digital platforms, authentic and relatable creator-led content often generates greater trust and engagement than conventional advertising. This transformation has positioned creator-led influence as one of the most impactful and effective forces shaping marketing strategies, consumer behaviour, and purchasing decisions in India today. The market for content creators is booming in India, with around 60 per cent of creators coming from Tier-2, Tier-3, and Tier-4 cities, highlighting the growing importance of regional and vernacular content. India's creator economy has evolved into a vast digital ecosystem with over 100 million creators, including approximately 2.5–4.4 million active digital creators who have more than 1,000 followers. Although it is a multi-billion-dollar industry, earnings remain concentrated among a small percentage of creators, making monetisation highly unequal. Creators can broadly be divided into three categories: active creators, nano creators, and micro creators. However, only 8–10 per cent of active creators earn a sustainable living from content creation. Most nano and micro creators earn about Rs 15,000–18,000 per month, often treating content creation as a side income. Macro creators can earn anywhere between Rs 50,000 and Rs 5 lakh or more per sponsored post, mainly through brand partnerships. Many creators are also moving beyond brand deals by registering businesses and launching their own products, reducing their dependence on sponsorships. The recent incident in which a content creator revealed her gold collection online eventually led to a theft at her residence. Madhya Pradesh YouTuber Rachna Gurjar was robbed of gold, silver, and cash worth Rs 8–10 lakh after frequently showcasing her jewellery on social media. Burglars reportedly used her videos to study the layout of the house before carrying out the crime. They disabled the CCTV cameras, locked the family in a room, and executed the heist. Social media is not always a safe space, and information shared online can easily be exploited by criminals. As the creator economy continues to grow, creators must exercise greater restraint in what they share, while consumers must apply critical thinking rather than scroll mindlessly. (The writer is a media professional and a Research Associate with IIM, Shilong. Views personal.)

AI in Sperm Sorting: An Unbiased Decision for A Better Outcome

Artificial Intelligence or AI is revolutionising fertility treatments of the future. The inclusion of AI enhances the accuracy, efficiency, and objectivity of sperm selection, hence potentially improving fertility outcomes by leaps and bounds. Traditionally, sperm sorting through manual methods is subjective to judgments. Processes like centrifugation and swim-up methods are used to separate sperm based on motility and morphology. Although they are effective, they have their limitations, leading to human errors that affect the success rates of fertility treatment. For instance, studies have shown that traditional sperm sorting techniques can have variability in success rates, with reported live birth rates ranging between 15 per cent to 25 per cent per cycle depending on the method and quality of sperm. Hence the introduction of AI helps in maintaining consistency in evaluations of sperm, using the same data set for every sample which leads to better judgments.


Automation and Standardisation- Automation of sperm selection and also introduction of AI in the process have improved the results in ART. AI-assisted sperm selection improves the accuracy in choosing high-quality sperm for fertilisation purposes, and also, pregnancy and live birth rates might be improved. Technologies like Intracytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection along with AI ensure the chances of pregnancies increase by about 10-20 per cent compared to the standard procedures. AI and Automation will decrease time taken to analyze sperm and increase opportunities to select better sperm with DNA integrity for better development and higher success rates in embryo selection. These processes ensure that the sperm selection process follows consistent criteria, reducing variability in outcomes caused by human error.


Analysing Complex Data for Better Outcomes- AI plays a crucial in improving IVF outcomes by analysing complex data and providing tailored recommendations. AI-driven tools and models such as those on SpOvum.ai point towards an opportunity to optimise ovarian stimulation decisions by assessing patient characteristics and follicle growth patterns. A study revealed that the use of AI in IVF improved egg yield and reduced medication costs. AI enables fertility specialists to make data-driven choices, improving overall IVF success rates and streamlining treatment processes.


Reducing Human Error- AI models can continuously learn and refine their performance by being trained on newer data. This adaptability ensures the technology remains unbiased and up-to-date with the latest scientific insights into sperm quality and fertility success rates. Studies have shown that AI-driven sperm sorting can decrease human-related errors by up to 25 per cent, improving sperm selection quality in terms of morphology and motility.


Reduction of Sperm Damage- The new AI-driven sperm sorting techniques also include microfluidic systems that are known to exhibit several advantages over the most commonly used conventional method, which is centrifugation. Traditional centrifugation methods, such as density gradient centrifugation, also cause severe oxidative stress and DNA fragmentation of the sperm because of the very high mechanical forces involved. The AI-infused microfluidic sorting minimises this damage significantly by involving gentler processes that mimic the natural pathway of sperm selection. The studies show that the process of microfluidic sorting decreases DNA fragmentation in sperm, which gives improved opportunities for success for IVF. For example, DNA fragmentation is 20 percent lower in sperm sorted using microfluidic processes than in traditional processing methods.


AI is bound to play an increasingly definitive role in fertility treatments, which will improve the outcomes for couples experiencing infertility.


(The author is a Co-Founder & CEO at SpOvum® Technologies. Views personal.)

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