Managing Expectations: The Precarious Reality of Cultural Work in the Digital Age

MigraVoice* expert, Dr. Smith Mehta explores how cultural workers in the digital age are forced to be more than just creators—they are managers of precarity, censorship, and algorithmic pressures. From social media influencers to streaming professionals, the digital revolution has reshaped creativity, turning it into a game of survival, negotiation, and caution.

Cultural Work in the Digital Age: Managing Precarity, Censorship, and Gendered Expectations

In today’s media landscape, cultural work is no longer just about creativity—it is about management. Cultural workers, from independent creators to professionals in digital streaming industries, are no longer just artists or storytellers; they have become self-managers, navigating a complex web of expectations from platforms, audiences, advertisers, states, and regulatory frameworks. Creativity now operates within a structure where algorithms determine reach, government policies dictate content, and audience reception can be a matter of economic survival.

This transformation is particularly evident in the Indian media industry, where the digital revolution promised democratization but has instead produced new hierarchies of control. As someone who has worked across media industries, academia, and cultural policy, my research examines these shifting power dynamics, focusing on three key dimensions: precarity, censorship, and gender inequalities in digital media labor.

From Creators to Cultural Managers: Navigating Precarity

The dream of digital media democratization has been a double-edged sword for creators. On one hand, platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Amazon Prime Video offer alternative routes for talent outside India’s elitist and nepotistic film and television industry. On the other, these platforms introduce new forms of precarity, where creators are subjected to algorithmic control, audience-driven monetization models, and an ever-changing platform economy.

In my book, (Mehta 2023), I analyze how Indian digital creators strategically use social media to overcome barriers in traditional media, yet remain caught in a cycle of economic insecurity, dependence on brand sponsorships, and the constant pressure to generate content that aligns with trending platform dynamics. Creators are no longer just storytellers; they must be entrepreneurs, marketers, and data analysts, making creative survival contingent on market logic rather than artistic vision.

This shift highlights the larger neoliberal transformation of cultural work: individual creators are responsible for managing their own risks, securing their own funding, and ensuring their relevance in a competitive digital economy. The idea of a stable cultural job is fading—replaced by short-term contracts, gig-based work, and platform dependency.

The Politics of Censorship in Digital Media

If the market shapes what gets produced, the state decides what gets seen. India’s digital media landscape is increasingly shaped by political censorship and regulatory control, limiting the creative freedom of cultural workers. My co-authored article, “The Road to Censorship” (Mehta, and Amit-Danhi, 2024), examines how the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 (IT Rules) have turned India’s once-open digital space into a regulated environment where streaming platforms self-censor content to avoid political backlash.

The intersection of state control and mob censorship—where extremist groups target platforms and creators—has led to a chilling effect on digital expression. Streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have been forced to comply with governmental and ideological pressures, altering the type of content that gets commissioned. This has produced a form of soft censorship, where creators are pushed toward safe, politically neutral, or nationalistic narratives rather than bold, subversive storytelling.

In this environment, cultural workers must not only create but also anticipate and manage risks. Self-censorship becomes an economic and legal strategy, forcing creators to dilute narratives that challenge dominant ideologies. The state’s involvement in digital governance means that cultural work is not just about talent—it’s about negotiating power structures and ideological gatekeeping.

Gendered Inequalities in the Digital Media Industry

While digital platforms have offered new spaces for marginalized voices, they have not erased structural inequalities. My article, “Where Are the Women?” (2022), explores how gendered hierarchies persist in Indian digital production cultures, despite the rise of streaming platforms.

The #MeToo movement revealed the extent of harassment, gatekeeping, and power imbalances within India’s entertainment industry, but it also led to a backlash where women were strategically excluded from networking events and high-profile industry projects. Algorithmic data, often interpreted through male-dominated corporate structures, reinforces biases by privileging male-centric content and narratives.

Women in digital media face three interconnected barriers:

Lack of Representation – Women occupy only 20% of above-the-line roles (directors, producers, writers, cinematographers) in Indian web series.

Algorithmic Discrimination – Platforms optimize for male-driven content trends, affecting hiring and funding decisions.

The #MeToo Burden – Instead of improving work conditions, the movement led to a backlash where survivors and outspoken women were subtly excluded from industry networks.

These challenges highlight how technology, power, and cultural production intersect, shaping who gets to tell stories and how they are told. Far from being a utopian digital space, streaming platforms reproduce many of the biases and exclusions found in traditional media.

Cultural Work as a Balancing Act: Between Creativity and Management

Across these three areas—precarity, censorship, and gendered labor—a clear pattern emerges: cultural work today is as much about managing risks as it is about creative expression. Whether it is negotiating platform algorithms, political restrictions, or industry biases, cultural workers are caught in a system where their ability to create is conditioned by external pressures that often stifle true innovation.

The key takeaway from my research is that creativity in the digital age is not just an artistic endeavor but a strategic one. Cultural workers must be agile, entrepreneurial, and politically aware, navigating multiple forces that shape the production, distribution, and reception of their work. Creativity is no longer enough; the ability to manage expectations has become a necessary survival skill.

Conclusion: The Future of Cultural Work in the Digital Age

As digital media and technologies continues to evolve, the question remains: can cultural workers reclaim agency over their labor? While platforms, states, and economic structures shape cultural production, there is also resistance, adaptation, and strategic negotiation. New collectives, independent media initiatives, and alternative funding models are emerging as possible ways to challenge precarious conditions and create sustainable creative careers.

Understanding the broader political and economic structures of digital media is essential—not just for cultural workers but for anyone engaging with media today. What we consume, how we engage with platforms, and what we advocate for as audiences can contribute to shaping a more equitable digital future for creators worldwide.**

This is the first blog article in our MigraVoice series written by our MigraVoice expert Dr. Smith Mehta. His book ‘The New Screen Ecology in India: Digital Transformation of Media’ can be found here (open-source). Interested in contributing writing a blog piece? Sign up for MigraVoice, then send an email to advocacy@thelondonstory.org with a proposal!

*This project is co-funded by the European Union (Project number: LC-02408780). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.Project: ŁC 02408780 — Migrant Voices Matter in the European Media — CNECT/2022/8240201.

** The thoughts expressed in the blog pieces published are that of the author and no responsibility of the organization can be asserted from the pieces.