Nelly Cruz, or as she’s better known “Nellybillz,” is a 19-year-old social media influencer who began working on her craft after she dropped out of college in 2021 while struggling with her mental health.
But while she’s relatively new to the influencer sphere, Cruz told the Bronx Times her aspirations to be a social media star came from her childhood.
“I always had a dream since I was a little girl to be famous,” the Bronxite said.
Cruz began posting TikTok content during college, discussing relevant topics at the time such as the controversial Netflix show “Dahmer.” But even amidst her increase in popularity while at school, Cruz still struggled with the unfamiliar setting of college and the lack of social comfortability — she said not only her studies, but also the feeling of homesickness was hard to overcome. She soon fell into a depression, and decided to drop out of college.
“Everyone knows about COVID,” Cruz said. “(In that period) I fell into big depression and went to college upstate … I went six hours away from home so it was really hard for me to get adjusted to the community.”
What seemed like a deep pit at the time, however, actually became a means for her to pursue social media full time. After she left school, her career flourished and her mental health began to improve.
Cruz continued using TikTok, a social media application that specializes in bite-sized algorithm-based content, to really begin her journey toward fame. She became inspired by other influencers by surfing through her TikTok feed and aspiring to do what they did — but better. She has amassed more than 68,000 followers on TikTok since 2021, and 166,000 followers on Instagram. TikTok was Cruz’s first platform, but she quickly moved on to YouTube to expand her horizons.
Her output of content is primarily comedic and incorporates social interactions and collaborations with other content creators. The Bronxite said she challenges the gender boundaries by making content primarily made by male content creators, like the popular social media trend where the subject interviews people man-on-the-street style.
She uses her outgoing spirit as her social media persona, and she said it made her attempt at social media much easier — as she was just herself on camera and didn’t have to put up a façade while doing her videos.
“I continued onto YouTube, and on YouTube I was still doing public interviews, but more people started seeing me … once I came back from college and came back home that’s when I took it serious, and it took off really,” Cruz said.
However, the influencer said transitioning between social media platforms was no easy task — it proved to be one of many challenges she would have to face when building her social media career.
“It was not easy because in reality once you have the algorithm going in one app it’s kind of hard to transfer all those people to another app because most of the time they’re not reliable or they don’t take time out (of) their day to go to (a) whole other app to watch you,” she said.
Because of her consistent viewership and high follower count, Cruz said she’s been able to monetize her content. TikTok allows influencers to make money from its “TikTok Creativity Program,” where going live and interacting with fans allows them to donate to creators. In addition, companies may make sponsorship deals or scout potential partners.
But social media’s affect on its users’ mental health is a widely discussed topic and the relationship between the two is a growing one.
Data from the HelpGuide nonprofit found that there is some correlation between a person’s mental health and their time spent on social media platforms. The organization stated that multiple studies have found a strong link between heavy social media and an increased risk for depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
The National Center for Health Research took a dive into social media’s affect on younger kids and came to similar conclusions. According to the center, about 25% of adolescents believe that social media has a mostly negative effect, with 13% of 12- to 17-year-olds reporting depression and 32% reporting anxiety. It is a concern for young adults as well, the data indicated, since 25% of 18- to 25-year-olds report having some form of mental illness.
Being a social media influencer has taught Cruz a lot about the field she works in and has allowed her to gain a lot of knowledge about the ins and outs of the industry, and how to keep a level head when the pressure of it all kicks in. Her advice to other influencers is to just be themselves.
“If you’re starting social media don’t ever change who you are … don’t ever feel like you gotta fake anything for nobody, and don’t let comments get to you, there’s always gonna be haters, there’s always gonna be supporters, but at the end of the day as long as you’re putting out what you want and what makes you happy that’s all that matters,” she said. “Don’t ever forget about yourself and your mental health.”
Cruz’s goal for the future consists of a change in content — she aims to stray away from her older comedic style of content creation, and instead prioritize using her platform to spread awareness regarding mental wellbeing. Her own mental health was the catalyst for her social media career, and she aims to honor that by focusing on wellbeing and talking about the topic in a manner that most social media influencers stray away from.
“My end goal in reality is to just become somebody that is inspirational, I want to move to a little bit more to motivational content that people can look at and be inspired by me instead of just having a laugh, I want people to be inspired by me … I want to make sure people are giving out the best that they can,” she said.
This article was updated on July 13 at 1:36 p.m.
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