Top 3 TikTokers in the World. Social media influencing is here to stay and grow.

Creatix / September 14, 2025

A social media influencer is a person who builds a large, engaged audience on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, or X, or in China, WeChat, Douyin (domestic TikTok), Weibo, Bilibili, etc., and can shape what that audience thinks, buys, or does through their content and recommendations. Their influence comes from authenticity, expertise, or entertainment value in a niche (e.g., beauty, gaming, fitness, finance), reinforced by consistent posting and parasocial relationships. They monetize via sponsored posts, affiliate links, ad revenue, subscriptions, events, and their own products or services, while disclosing paid partnerships to meet legal and platform guidelines.

Who’s on top right now on TikTok (2025)?

Khaby Lame leads, followed by Charli D’Amelio and MrBeast. (Wikipedia)

1. Khaby Lame — Khabane “Khaby” Lame (b. 2000) is a Senegalese-Italian creator known for silent, emotionless TikToks mocking overcomplicated “life hacks”. He became the platform’s most-followed user on June 22, 2022, and was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in Jan 2025. (Wikipedia)

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2. Charli D’Amelio — An American dancer and influencer (b. 2004) who rose in 2019 with viral choreography, she was the first person to reach 100M TikTok followers, starred in Hulu’s The D’Amelio Show, won Dancing with the Stars (2022), and is the platform’s No. 2 most-followed as of 2025. (Wikipedia)

3. MrBeast — Jimmy Donaldson (b. 1998) is a YouTuber and entrepreneur behind high-budget challenge videos and large-scale philanthropy; he runs the most-subscribed YouTube channel, founded MrBeast Burger and Feastables, and co-founded Team Trees and Team Seas, campaigns that have raised tens of millions of dollars. (Wikipedia)

Who were the first influencers?

Before “influencer” was a job title, early creators built audiences on blogs and early YouTube:

• Heather Armstrong (“Dooce”) turned a personal blog (launched 2001) into a massive, monetized audience—an early template for creator careers. (AP News)

• Michelle Phan (YouTube, 2007) helped define beauty influencing and later launched EM Cosmetics—often cited as a prototypical modern influencer arc. (Glamour)

• Teen fashion bloggers like Tavi Gevinson (Style Rookie, 2008) showed brands would court digital-native tastemakers. (Wikipedia)

• On YouTube, early breakout channels like Smosh (2005) and nigahiga (2006)—and later PewDiePie (2010)—paved the way to today’s creator giants. (Wikipedia)

A (very) short history of social media influencing

• 2006: paid posts begin. PayPerPost launches a marketplace paying bloggers—arguably the start of modern influencer marketing. (IZEA Worldwide, Inc)

• 2007–09: creators get paid, rules arrive. YouTube launches the Partner Program (ad-revenue sharing). The FTC issues Endorsement Guides (2009) requiring disclosure of “material connections.” (TechCrunch)

• 2010s: the Instagram era. Instagram’s 2010 launch supercharges visual lifestyle influencing and brand collabs. (Wikipedia)

• 2016–18: short-form takes over. TikTok rises (including the 2018 Musical.ly merge), birthing a new wave of megastars. (Wikipedia)

• 2017: cautionary tale. The Fyre Festival fiasco highlights undisclosed/celebrity promos and pushes tougher disclosure norms. (Vanity Fair)

• 2019–23: tighter guardrails. FTC publishes influencer disclosure tips (2019) and updates the Endorsement Guides (2023) to address social-media/AI realities. (Federal Trade Commission)

• 2024–25: creator dominance. MrBeast becomes YouTube’s #1 channel; creator platforms rival (or surpass) traditional media in ad dollars. (Wikipedia)

What do you wanna be when you grow up? 

In surveys over the last few years, large shares of young people say they want to be creators: a LEGO/Harris Poll found “YouTuber/Influencer” topped astronaut among kids in the U.S. and U.K. Recent reporting shows more than 30% of Gen Alpha (12–15) pick “YouTuber” as a top job; and Adobe’s polling found 1 in 3 Americans ages 18–30 want to become influencers. The appeal is obvious: creative autonomy, low barriers to entry, and visible role models who’ve turned channels into profitable companies. (Statista)

Universities are formalizing the path

What began as “learn-by-doing” on YouTube/TikTok is now entering the syllabus. Concrete examples:

• University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) launched a B.A. in Digital Media Influence focused on content production and persuasion psychology—one of the first U.S. degrees of its kind. (UT San Antonio Admissions)

• South East Technological University (Ireland) offers a B.A. (Hons) in Content Creation & Social Media, widely reported as a first-of-its-kind full degree for aspiring influencers. (SETU)

• Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) runs a B.F.A. in Social Strategy & Management (plus a minor), aimed at analytics, audience growth, and brand work. (SCAD.edu)

• Grand Canyon University offers a B.A. in Social Media (on-campus and online). (Grand Canyon University)

• Beyond degrees, schools like USC run specialized courses (e.g., Influencer Strategies), and U.S. campuses are adding “TikTok classes” that teach growth and analytics. (web-app.usc.edu)

Why institutions care: the money (and jobs) are there

The creator economy sits in the hundreds of billions and will continue growing. Goldman Sachs estimated roughly $250B in 2023 rising toward $480B by 2027. YouTube alone says it paid $70B+ to creators, artists and media companies over the last three years. This is evidence that creator careers can sustain real businesses, not just side hustles. (Goldman Sachs)

The profession is professionalizing

Modern programs tend to cover four pillars:

1. Creative craft (story, video, audio, design), 2) Audience & analytics (platform data, SEO, shorts vs. long-form), 3) Business & law (contracts, taxes, IP, brand deals), and 4) Ethics & compliance (truthful claims, kids/health advertising). The U.S. FTC updated its Endorsement Guides in 2023, clarifying stronger, clearer disclosures and shared liability across brands, agencies, and influencers. This is material that every serious program now teaches. (Federal Trade Commission)

The risks colleges must teach 

• Algorithm dependence & income volatility. Platform switches or ranking tweaks can tank reach overnight; creators must diversify formats and revenue streams. (pages.ischool.utexas.edu)

• Burnout & mental health. Studies and recent reporting tie heavy social posting and “always-on” work to stress and negative affect; half or more creators report burnout. (The Guardian)

• Regulatory scrutiny. Clear, conspicuous disclosure isn’t optional; the 2023 FTC updates made expectations explicit (including for short-form video). (Federal Trade Commission)

Will the trend keep growing?

Yes—but it will look more like creative entrepreneurship than “fame.” Expect:

• More majors/minors/certificates attached to communications, marketing, film, journalism, design, and entrepreneurship schools. (The Times of India)

• Co-ops and studio partnerships where students produce for brands and campus channels, backed by performance analytics. (See SCAD/USC examples.) (SCAD.edu)

• Emphasis on durable skills (writing, research, editing, negotiation, financial literacy) alongside platform tactics, so grads survive algorithm swings. (pages.ischool.utexas.edu)

Practical advice for parents, teachers, and aspiring creators

• Treat it like a real small business. Pick a niche, post consistently, track metrics, build an email list/community you own, and diversify revenue (ads, affiliates, merch, memberships, licensing, services). The programs above teach exactly this. (SCAD.edu)

• Make compliance second nature. Disclose paid relationships clearly in the video and caption; don’t rely only on platform tags. (Federal Trade Commission)

• Protect well-being. Schedule offline time; set posting cadences you can sustain; collaborate (don’t go it alone). Burnout is common; plan around it. (The Guardian)

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Bottom line: Kids aren’t just chasing clout. They’re watching an entire new industry mature into a formal career track with coursework, credentials, and real economics behind it. Successful creators will think beyond virality to build resilient, compliant, multi-platform businesses. This is exactly the mindset colleges are beginning to teach. (Goldman Sachs)

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