I Quit Viral Video – How Does It Make You Feel?

By Nathan Kirsch

Have you seen the YouTube video where Marina Shifrin decides to quit her job while dancing to Kanye West through a video that she filmed before people got into the office one morning? The video was posted on YouTube on September 28th and went viral, being viewed nearly 15 million times since being posted. Ms. Shifrin worked for Taiwanese news animator Next Media Animation, a company that creates humorous videos about news events.

Marina Shifrin on Sacrifice

The video leads you to believe that the 25-year old worked her butt off and sacrificed her relationships, time and energy for nothing. You can watch the the I Quit video below.

Since quitting her job she’s made headlines around the world and has already started making appearances on talk shows about her I Quit video. On Wednesday, Shifrin was offered a position as digital content producer on the “Queen Latifah Show” while making a guest appearance on the actress’s talk show. Tons of people are feeling sorry for this 25-year old, but should you feel that bad? Mark Simon, a commercial director at Next Media Animation has released the following about her tough job at the video company:

I am Mark Simon, I am the one who hired Marina Shifrin, who danced her way to fame in her resignation video which she sent to Gawker.

There are a few things I would like just make a point of and if there is an interest I will be happy to be asked any question. (We do not have a PR department and we are wide open to any and all questions). There is an image now of a sweat shop, we are not. Marina made USD$42k per year. She had a 40 hr work week, 5 days a week. There is no expectation of OT on our behalf, you finish your shift and leave. In our office most folks leave when their shift is up as you work on news flow.

Also we ask journalists to work one month per year on the midnight shift as we just need to cover the shift. We pay a differential of 30% for these hours, which I know are hard hours to work.

Making $42k per year on a 40 hour work week doesn’t really sound like a big sacrifice, but who knows what the real truth is. Last Tuesday, Next Media Animation posted a response video entitled “We’re Hiring.” The video (which you can watch below) had been watched over 3.5 million times.

It makes you wonder what is really going on here? Why did Ms. Shifrin produce a video, at her corporate offices, rather than simply calling it quits? Was this all pre-planned and an elaborate way for both parties to split ways and gain notoriety or did she really have a sweatshop style job? Who knows, but she has become a folk hero to some; to others, an example of the entitled millennial generation. What do you think?