‘Parish Project’ all about discovering secrets and restoring history at an old P.E.I. homeAfter just one look, Dean MacArthur knew he had to fix it. Fearing a former parish house would be demolished, the P.E.I. mason bought it so that he could breathe new life into its old walls. In the process of restoring it and documenting the project on social media, he’s discovered some secrets.When Dean MacArthur launched his Instagram account @theparishproject more than two years ago, he never imagined it would change his life.The stonemason, who runs his own company, started the page simply as a side project to document his renovation of an old parish house he bought next to the Catholic church in the western Prince Edward Island community of Mont-Carmel.Within three months, his account had gone from zero followers to half a million.”The blow up was intense,” MacArthur told This is P.E.I. podcast host Mitch Cormier.”The interest from people around the world was something that really surprised me. I didn’t think that people would be interested in Dean MacArthur, in this house in the middle of Prince Edward Island in the middle of nowhere, in this place that’s run down.”This is PEI19:21Island influencers: meet the people behind two of P.E.I.’s most popular accountsThis week Mitch chats with two digital creators learning the pleasure and pressure of being an online influencer.But by May of last year, MacArthur stopped posting. He didn’t start again until this past March.”I found that it became overwhelming to have to produce content every single day and consistently, and the demands on my time to be able to do the work, film the content, then edit it and put it all online was just too much,” he said. “The pressures of that were quite intense. People expect content that is high quality.”MacArthur’s experience is not unique. Other Island creators say content creation can be rewarding and even lucrative, but it comes with heavy demands on their time, privacy and mental health.A family channel takes offIn Summerside, Francis and Kristel Santiago know that pressure well.The couple started their YouTube channel, Diary of Four, four years ago to document their family’s new life on P.E.I. and the early years with their eldest daughter, Ember.The Santiago family of Summerside recently presented a donation to the Prince County Hospital Foundation to celebrate their YouTube channel reaching 20 million subscribers. From left, Francis, with his children Keegan and Ember, and his wife Kristel. (Prince County Hospital Foundation/Facebook)Today, the channel has more than 20.3 million subscribers. Their family-friendly skits, starring the couple and their two children, have also built them a following of more than 200,000 on Instagram and tens of thousands more on other platforms.Recently, the family marked their 20-million subscriber milestone by donating to the Prince County Hospital Foundation.”[When] we first started here, we don’t have anything, so people help us,” Francis Santiago said. “And PCH is one of those who really helped us.”LISTEN | Island influencers: Meet the people behing P.E.I.’s most popular accounts:Originally from the Philippines, Francis worked multiple jobs in fields like fast food and retail when the couple first arrived.Two years ago, as the channel’s audience exploded, he quit his jobs to focus on YouTube full time. He now produces and edits all their content, while Kristel helps brainstorm ideas and their kids enjoy acting in the channel’s sketches.”Because they’re kids, they still think of it as fun things whenever we do content,” Kristel said. “They see themselves on TV, and they would smile, they would laugh. We still watch our videos together sometimes during weekends.”‘It’s not for the faint of heart’The Santiagos now live comfortably on YouTube ad revenue. But Francis said success comes with responsibility.”Being a YouTuber is a commitment. For me, right now, it’s like a business in a sense because this is our lives now, our income depends on it,” he said.The main goal, he said, is to produce consistent, high-quality content. But unlike traditional jobs with steady pay, YouTube income fluctuates depending on views. That creates pressure to keep producing more.”It’s not for the faint of heart,” Francis said.Kristel added, “There are times when we feel like, ‘Oh, we can’t think of anything else to put out.’ But of course we still do. But burnout is real, so we do take vacations.”To protect their privacy, the Santiago family limits what they share to staged skits and avoid disclosing personal information. (Diary of 4/Facebook)To protect their privacy, the couple sets some firm boundaries.Francis said they only film staged skits and never share private details like their address or children’s school.”I guess we still have privacy, if you would call it that. You don’t know what’s happening inside our house, but you know that we’re creating content for comedy skits,” he said.Kristel said they dedicate specific hours each day to creating content, while the rest of their routines — school, bus rides, family time — remain unchanged.”Everything else is just normal life,” she said. “Only a certain part of our lives is spent on YouTube as part of our work.”Mainstreet PEI8:44Summerside’s The Santiagos are breakout stars on YouTubeWith more than 20 million YouTube subscribers and a development deal in the works, the Santiago family from Summerside is making waves online. We catch up with the family behind the viral success.Finding a balanceP.E.I. Instagrammer Lauren Holden has also felt the weight of life online.A naturopathic doctor, Holden runs @laus_healthy_life, which has nearly 200,000 followers.Her account began with nutrition and wellness content, but after she became a mother it expanded to include motherhood and lifestyle posts.While she enjoys connecting with people around the world, Holden said the work behind the posts often goes unseen.”When you’re on your phone so much, it’s hard between, like, scrolling for leisure and, like, scrolling for work and editing a lot and doing a lot of things. So I want to say… at least eight hours a day,” Holden said.Lauren Holden says she tries to set good boundaries and not use everything for content, especially when it comes to her children, because she wants to prioritize their safety. (laus_healthy_life/Instagram)She has become more careful about the life details she shares, especially when it comes to her children.”I am trying to be very mindful of my children and their privacy, so I stopped filming as much of that,” she said. “I also don’t want to use everything for content, because I want to kind of have a boundary there so that I can enjoy my life…. It’s all about finding a balance.”Holden said that concern grew after a recent incident when someone stole all her TikTok videos, built a fake account that amassed 50,000 followers, and began messaging people pretending to be her.”The more that I learn about the internet, it’s scary and anyone can watch your stuff,” she said. “You have to have some good boundaries, I think, especially when you’re a mom and you have kids, I’m always trying to prioritize their safety first.”
For these P.E.I. influencers, online fame brings rewards, but also the need to set boundaries
