To a passer-by, Elise Maric and Amber Harrison seem like any other Otago University students. And they are. They love hanging out with their friends, partying and going for coffee at one of Dunedin’s many cafes, and they also love their astrology (Elise is a Libra and Amber is a Cancer, for those of you wondering.) However, over the past year, the duo have managed to amass quite a bit of success on TikTok, a video platform you may have heard of. The pair sat down to chat with Critic about how they got into social media, its impact on their lives, and the pros and cons of being a local pseudo-celebrity.
At the time of writing, Elise and Amber have a combined total of over 21,000 followers, and 2.6 million likes on TikTok with the numbers growing daily. Their videos cover a range of topics, including all things lifestyle, from university to completing viral trends such as the “75 Hard” challenge. They’ve used their platform for good, and managed to fundraise over $2,000 for the Cancer Society when they took part in the yearly campaign Shave for a Cure. “I had so many random people I didn’t even know donating,” said Elise. “It doesn’t even matter if people donated or not, but people would DM us with their stories [about their experiences with cancer]” said Amber.
Although Elise and Amber had been creating content on TikTok throughout their final years of high school, things didn’t really start to take off until last year when the pair met as first years at Arana College. “It was honestly a big joke,” said Elise, who began posting TikToks during her failed 2020 gap year. “In [2020] I was working part time at Domino’s, so my life was kind of a joke, I was just making memes out of everything.” In 2021, Elise moved to Dunedin to study Marketing and Communications and began posting more regular content from her bedroom in her spare time with “no intention of blowing up.”
Amber’s is a similar story. She was casually posting on TikTok throughout year 13. “I was always doing it as a bit of a joke, I did it a bit more seriously in year 13, and a couple [videos] went kinda viral,” she said. “I got to Uni, started a YouTube channel, and that’s when I decided to hop on TikTok and was just like “let’s see what happens.”
However, the following has led to them having some strange experiences. People have begun creating fan pages for the girls, taking videos of them while they walk down the street, and even asking them for photos when they go to parties. “People photoshop me, people have sent me embarrassing videos of me walking down the street,” said Elise. Nonetheless, the two remain entirely aware of what’s going on, and are not afraid to have a laugh. “Honestly, it’s the most humbling thing, and I think you have to have a few more followers than us to be considered an influencer,” said Elise. “Sometimes it's funny when you have a fan page, or you get a random message from someone and people know who you are. I went out on Saturday night and people asked for selfies,” said Amber.
Although the pair speak highly of TikTok, and are amazed by the opportunities it's presented them, like anything, social media has its downfalls. “There’s a lot of toxic trends going around, there’s a lot of diet culture going around which you don’t want to see, but you can’t really filter out,” said Elise. Critic asked the girls which TikTok trends they hated the most. Internet trolls and diet culture aside, thirst traps came out on top. “I hate thirst traps,” said Elise. “You can be the most beautiful man, but if you post a thirst trap, you’re dead to me.”
There is also no shortage of hateful comments from internet trolls. Amber, who is a keen thrift shopper, recalled the time she received backlash over her shopping choices. “I posted a few videos about thrifting and sustainable fashion, then I went to Kmart, and I had all these nasty comments about how I went to Kmart, after I was posting about sustainable fashion,” she said. “You just can’t win, and there’s always the anonymous accounts [sending hate],” said Elise.
When asked if they would pursue content creation professionally, both girls expressed an interest in it and believed that it helps contribute to their overall goals and ambitions. “We both study marketing and comms, and I want to do something with public relations, with that creative media side,” said Elise. “It’s fun to document stuff and make videos, it’s helping us with what we want to do,” said Amber. “If we keep pursuing it, people get paid a lot for social media, and for a Uni side hustle, it’s not bad.”