Creating authentic content is a byproduct of being authentic in your life, says content creator Vishnu Kaushal

In the latest episode of The Varun Duggi Show streaming on Spotify, Gaana and JioSaavn, Vishnu Kaushal, in a conversation with host Varun Duggirala, talked about his experience as a digital content creator and staying authentic apart from discussing digital detox and style.

Duggirala observed how social media affects people overall and asked if living life in ‘public view’ affects Kaushal, who replied, “I was reading The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant. I think there was a quote in the book, ‘I am not who I think I am, I am not who you think I am, I am what I think you think I am.’ And social media, sort of, exacerbates that idea.”

The conversation took an interesting turn as both Vishnu and Varun deep-dived into a discussion about authenticity as a creator.

Kaushal said, “Content creation is one aspect of your life. It’s not your life. To be authentic doesn’t mean to create authentic content. Creating authentic content is a byproduct of being authentic in your life. And you do that by staying true to your values. And I am still figuring out my values because your values change as you grow up. And it’s okay to change. The idea is to be open to change. Today, you’re authentic. In five years, you’ve experienced so much that if you stay the ‘authentic’ you were five years ago, you’re not authentic. Because you haven’t added in the growth and evolved.”

Duggirala responded, “How to stay authentic is a conversation I often have with myself because, at most times, you also don’t know what is authentically you... The fact about authenticity is this: what you are authentically today and not when you started or when you were younger…you also evolved. If you don’t evolve, then what’s the point?”

Sharing an incident, Kaushal said, “In 2018, there was this idea doing the rounds called ‘social media detox.’ I was just fascinated by the idea of not using social media for the first time in my life. And after the month I took off, the very next video I made went viral on YouTube. I made another part, which went viral. The process of making it was so pure for some reason; I can’t formulate it. There is no formula behind it. The content was coming to me. I wasn’t searching, ‘Oh, viral video hai.’ I feel de-cluttering your mind is so important for a creator specifically.”

He talked about the style of creating content without being pretentious. “The second I post anything on that account (@vishnutoo), I feel so happy. Because I don’t check notifications on that, I don’t reply to comments on that. Sometimes, I do when something is very cute, but I don’t take the pressure…I don't owe it to anyone on that Instagram. That is my space... It’s just my expression of who I am. I don’t take the pressure of clicking pictures... because I am not a fashion. I am not even trying to tell you that this is what you should wear. I am just sharing what I wore today,” he added.

The full episode: