TikTok 'Hokkien Girl' Wins Praise For Honest Take On Influencer Stereotypes In SG; Says Why She Initially "Didn't Want To Be Classified As One Of Them"

It’s hard to deny the stereotypes surrounding social media personalities, but you may start to see them differently — some of them, at least — after reading this article.

In a recent episode of YES 933 DJ Joey Tay’s podcast Say It Out Loud, local content creator Ong Yiting, better known as That Hokkien Girl on TikTok, got real candid about her thoughts on the influencer scene. 

The 25-year-old shared that before she was a full-time content creator, she was actually working as a consultant, a job that allowed her to travel to many parts of the world.

The National University of Singapore student, who graduated in 2023, was also performing very well in the company and was "climbing" the corporate ladder "very fast".

At the time, Yiting was only posting her interactions with her grandmother on Instagram, until her cousin downloaded TikTok on her phone. Things changed when a video of her, her cousin, and her grandmother conversing in Hokkien unexpectedly blew up on the platform.

She took that as a sign to post even more Hokkien videos, juggling both her work as a content creator and consultant, while something held Yiting back from becoming a full-time key opinion leader (KOL).

In a separate clip on YES 933's Instagram, the content creator candidly explained: "I feel that all of them (influencers) are brainless."

"All they do is show some skin, dance for a bit and they could be famous," added Yiting.

Speaking to 8days.sg, Yiting clarified that the comments on YES 933's Instagram were her initial thoughts about "a lot of the creators that [she] met", and that she "didn't want to be classified as part of them".

"Till today, I still feel that some content creators, when you talk to them, there's really no substance, no quality in the conversation. It's very true," she averred in YES 933's video.

While some influencers may have ‘better figures’ and ‘genes’, Yiting acknowledged that those are different advantages and not a viable career path for her.

"If you're asking me to shake a little in front of the camera, that's impossible," she posited. "Back then I just didn't want to do content creation because there's nothing very cool about it."

Yet as she continued making content, she came to realise her contribution to society.

She explained to 8days.sg that her intention was stemmed from all certain restrictions on dialects on the media — for example, radio shows cannot play dialect songs and television programmes are limited to specific time slots for dialect content.

"My platform opened up an avenue for dialect to surface in new media!" she chirped.

In fact, Yiting, who now works as a freelance consultant, is also supporting "a lot of secondary and tertiary students" — from Raffles Institution to polytechnics, as well as NUS and NTU — with their school projects related to dialects.

Many netizens have since taken to the comments to back Yiting’s views on certain content creators.

One noted the "sad reality" of social media, saying that many influencers are "famous for being handsome or beautiful" and that "people hardly follow or know about" those who "create beneficial content".

Another praised Yiting for being a "refreshing change" in the scene that often over-emphasises physical appearance, sharing that they felt "impressed" with her thought process and maturity after speaking to her in person.