Social Media is Reshaping Kids' Career Dreams: From YouTubers to Influencers

The New Career Aspirations of Children

A second grader in Norway drew a YouTube logo when asked what they wanted to be when they grow up. The reason? YouTubers are famous and make lots of money. Similarly, children in Wisconsin gave the same answer: they wanted to be YouTube influencers.

As a scholar of career and technical education, I've been studying how children imagine their careers since 2021. Our research shows that social media is now the second biggest influence on young people's career choices, after family, friends, and teachers.

Over 60% of middle and high school students surveyed from 2021-2024 said they wanted to be social media influencers or based their career choices on what they saw online. Other popular choices included professional soccer player, musician, and actor.

The Research Process

We surveyed over 80 children ages 7-11 in Wisconsin and conducted focus groups with over 140 middle and high school students. We also interviewed over 60 children in Norway. We asked simple prompts like "When I grow up I would like to be…" and "How do you know about this job?"

We found a disconnect between how schools help kids think about careers and what actually influences them.

Influencer Dreams

Some children as young as 7 simply drew the YouTube or TikTok logo or wrote that they aspired to be an "influencer" without knowing what they would influence. They believed influencers "gets lots of money" and "want to be famous."

Other drawings included footballers, musicians, actors, and princesses, but also wildlife biologists, pilots, engineers, and filmmakers.

Older students mentioned careers like nurse, electrician, engineer, teacher, welder, police officer, and small-business owner, but becoming an influencer remained common.

Social media also had positive influences. One rural student wanted to become a marine biologist after seeing online content, despite living over 1,300 miles from the ocean.

The Limited Role of Schools

Schools offer career interest surveys, career fairs, and job shadowing, but individualized guidance is limited. 27 states now require personalized education plans, but these often recommend traditional jobs like electrician or accountant, not modern roles like content creator.

Many online career-planning programs were created before social media became central to young people's lives. Formal career education competes with a constant stream of online messages about work and success.

Students in our focus groups found these programs unhelpful. One 17-year-old accepted into nursing school was told she should be a truck driver. Students learned more from conversations with teachers, counselors, family, and professionals.

When Dreams Don't Match Reality

While many aspire to be influencers, nearly half of all online content creators earn less than US$15,000 a year. Educators and families should recognize that young people are thinking about careers, but they rely more on social media than school surveys to imagine their futures.