The creator economy is reshaping every aspect of culture and society—from the future of work to social causes to mental health, the study said.

“The rapidly growing creator economy provides a platform for individuals, solopreneurs, small business owners and content creators to express themselves and explore creative and artistic pursuits in new ways,” said Adobe vice president of digital imaging Maria Yap.

“Increasingly, creators from all walks of life are turning their creative inspirations and passions into new careers and businesses supported by Adobe’s creative tools.”

The Australian creator economy is diverse and thriving
Worldwide, more than 165 million creators have joined the creator economy since 2020 marking significant growth in all markets.

In Australia alone, the creator economy grew to three million.

Millennials represent 42% of the creator economy globally. By comparison, Gen Z represents 14%.

Australia has one of the highest concentrations of Millennial (48%) and Gen X (37%) creators.

While the global creator economy is skewed toward male creators, Australia has a higher share of female creators (50%) than males (49%).

Australia also has a significantly higher number of daily social posters (80%) as compared to other countries like South Korea (47%), France and Japan (58%), Germany (60%), and the UK (65%).

Influencers make up only 14% of the global creator economy; only 12% of Australian creators are influencers.

Twenty-four percent of all creators stated that becoming an influencer is their current goal.

Redefining the future of work
The creator economy has unlocked new full and part-time career paths for Gen Z and Millennials who don’t want traditional careers.

The study found that content creation can be lucrative, but it takes time and commitment to be successful and while it remains a side hustle for most, many creators aspire to do more other than including owning a business.

Two in 10 creators own their own content-related business globally – with the US (26%), the uk (24%), Australia (21%), and Germany (19%) noting the highest share.
Australia (20%), like Spain (12%), Germany (12%), and Japan (10%), have a higher share of creators who work part-time, instead of having a full-time job.

Creators in Australia earn around $109 per hour, which is higher than the global average of $88 per hour ($177,375 annually if done full time).

Influencers in Australia earn around $75.09 per hour, which is lower than the global average of $81 per hour.

Creators and mental health
Creators who allot more time creating and sharing content are happier, the study revealed.

Social media users who consume content too much feel the opposite.

Twenty-six percent of Australian influencers say using social media or creating social content is more important to their mental health than exercising (24%), listening to music (25%), and going outside in nature (25%).

Globally, personal and professional growth (67%) and self-expression and health (58%) were the key motivators for all creators to engage in creative activities or create original social media content.

Globally, creators who make daily content and/or spend 10+ hours per week creating reports are happiest. In Australia, 67% of all creators believe regular social media posting is tied to a more positive mood.

Markets with higher concentrations of creators tend to have happier creators who create more and note locational creativity advantages. The US Australia, Brazil, Spain, and the UK consistently stand out for these factors.

Creators are key to advancing social causes online
Globally, creators have embraced the opportunity to advance conversations around social causes online, taking action to fuel awareness and discourse.

Nearly 94% of Australian creators and 95% of all creators globally take action to advance or support causes that are important to them.

The top causes in importance across all generations are food and housing security (64%), social justice (55%) and climate change (56%).

Thirty-one percent of Australian creators stated advancing social causes as the reason behind developing creative social media content.

By using their creativity and influence to advance social causes, creators across all countries believe they can drive awareness (51%), give a voice to those who otherwise wouldn’t have one, (49%) and make it easier to voice opinions on social causes (47%).

Globally, social cause creators feel the most optimistic (71%) and are more likely to create more often in the future (58%).

Seventy-two percent of all creators surveyed would take any social content action to support or advance causes or issues that are important to them.