So what do you earn? How a taboo question is going viral

Instagram and TikTok influencers hope to increase transparency on pay by questioning people in the street, writes Kimi Chaddah

- Kimi Chaddah

Would you be prepared to tell a stranger how much you earn and let them broadcast it all over the internet? It used to be the case that pretty much the only people who knew your salary were you, your boss and HM Revenue & Customs.

But now you might be asked "How much do you earn?" by an influencer with a camera who stops you in the street as you walk to work. In many cases this blunt question comes later, cushioned by a run of lighter questions.

Or they will ask about other pretty personal aspects of your finances, such as how much rent do you pay, how much do you have stashed in savings, or what is your biggest money mistake or regret.

Plenty of people seem to be happy to play ball. Within 40 seconds of one interview, we have discovered that an architectural designer is on £38,000 a year. The interviewee is also willing to reveal the amount they have in savings, plus how much they expect to earn in the future.

In another clip, a 60-year-old man is asked about his biggest financial regret. Not being bolder, he says. When he was younger, there was a flat that he didn't buy because at the time it seemed really expensive - but it has leapt in value from £64,000 to about £1.8m, he explains.

The clip, which has been viewed 1.3m times on Instagram, is part of a fast-growing genre: short, street-style interviews that ask strangers highly personal questions about things such as their income, rent and job satisfaction.

It is taking inspiration from the US, where Salary Transparent Street - a channel seeking to normalise conversations around salaries - has amassed 1 million followers in four years.

Those wielding the microphones say the interviews with Britons are helping to improve financial education and promote greater transparency on pay. Others would say it is about indulging our nosiness and trying to generate money by creating content that may go viral.