When they are not studying for exams or out having fun with friends, Mountain Home girls Kylie and Katelyn Richardson are working hard online, hoping one day to see their name in lights.
"All of these adults are telling us you are always on your phone but honestly there are such useful tools in today's world. They are so useful, especially with music. If you really want to get into music or you want to be on tv or on film, YouTube is a great way to put yourself out there," explained Katelyn. "I want to eventually get into the music industry."
"I personally want to be a performer. I want to be an actress," said Kylie.
But rather than packing their bags and heading to Hollywood, they are hoping the big shots come to them after seeing their videos online.
They are hoping YouTube will give them their big break in their own claim to fame.
"Me and my sister, we already loved singing," explained Katelyn. "We didn't know how to get ourselves out there because you can't just go to California and be like hey listen to me, so the internet is a really good way for record labels and bigger people that work with big clients to see people."
But there are also a billion different videos online, so the girls sought out to find a way to create their names. That's when they discovered a summer camp for learning about how to be a social media star.
But it was about so much more than getting a couple likes or follows. It's more about how to use social media safely.
"I don't think it was as much about gaining popularity as much as just really controlling your content and showing who you are as an individual," said Kylie.
Even more, the camp is almost a technology boot camp, learning how to use computers to market your talents professionally.
"Even though I am a millennial and I should know all of this stuff about editing and settings and stuff, I honestly didn't know a lot of it," explained Katelyn. "It was basically just a whole week of showing us how to use computers and how to do lighting and all of the technical stuff while also showing us what material people want to see."
The camp went so far as showing the girls how to deal with the haters.
"You know not everyone is going to like you and not everyone is going to say nice things so sometimes you just have to look past them and just see your goals clearly and realize what you really want," said Katelyn.
And while their page has grown from just a dozen or so followers to a couple hundred, the believe the lessons they learned could really go to any teen, social media star or not.
"I think it is important that teenagers learn that employers are going to go through your media feeds and you need to be careful and safe about what you are posting online," said Kylie.
