A new study has revealed a remarkable shift in the career aspirations of children. Instead of imagining themselves wearing white lab coats, piloting spacecraft, or saving lives as firefighters, many young people now see a future in creating viral videos, entertaining millions of followers, and building careers as social media influencers.
Researchers found that even children as young as seven years old now describe becoming a social media influencer as their ultimate dream job.
According to the findings, around 60 percent of middle and high school students said they either wanted to become content creators or had chosen their future career based on influencers they followed online.
When researchers asked younger children what they wanted to be when they grew up, many did not draw doctors, athletes, or police officers. Instead, they simply sketched the familiar logos of TikTok or YouTube, suggesting that these platforms have become symbols of success in the minds of today’s youth.
When asked why they admired influencers, many children gave surprisingly simple answers. They believed social media stars were “famous,” “popular,” and “make lots of money.” To them, influencers represented a lifestyle filled with excitement, creativity, recognition, and financial success.
Growing up in an era where smartphones and social media are part of everyday life, these children see internet celebrities much more often than they see astronauts or scientists. As a result, digital fame has become a highly attractive career goal.
Older students were somewhat more likely to mention traditional professions such as electricians, engineers, teachers, nurses, or astronauts. Nevertheless, the desire to become an online personality remained a common theme across nearly every age group studied.
Alongside influencers, other frequently mentioned dream careers included professional football players, musicians, actors, actresses, and, among some younger children, even princesses.
YouTube Instead of the Classroom
The research began in the United States in 2021 and later expanded to Norway in 2024. Scientists wanted to understand how children imagine their future careers and where those ideas come from. To do this, they surveyed elementary, middle, and high school students starting at the age of seven.
For their latest study, researchers interviewed 80 children between the ages of seven and eleven in Wisconsin, along with 140 middle and high school students. They also surveyed more than 60 students in Norway, allowing them to compare the aspirations of children living in different countries and cultures.
The researchers kept the questions simple and open-ended. Children were asked to complete sentences such as, “When I grow up, I want to be…” They were also asked where they first learned about the profession they had chosen and what inspired them to pursue it.
What surprised researchers most was how similar the answers were between American and Norwegian children. Despite living thousands of miles apart and growing up in different educational systems and cultures, many children in both countries shared the same dream of becoming YouTubers or TikTok creators.
Lead researcher Professor Matthew Simoneau from the University of Wisconsin described one memorable experience while writing about the study for The Conversation. During research in Norway, a second-grade student responded to the question by drawing the YouTube logo instead of naming a profession.
Later, when the same question was asked to second-grade students in Wisconsin, researchers were astonished to receive almost identical responses. Many American children also wanted to become YouTubers.
Professor Simoneau explained that these findings illustrate just how dramatically social media has reshaped children’s understanding of careers and success.
In some cases, seven-year-old children simply wrote the words “influencer” or drew the logos of TikTok or YouTube without having any real understanding of what influencing actually involves or who they hoped to influence.
For many of them, becoming famous online seemed to be the goal itself rather than a means of sharing knowledge, entertainment, or creativity.
Not All Influence Is Negative
Despite concerns surrounding social media, researchers emphasized that its influence is not entirely harmful. In fact, online platforms can introduce children to careers they might never have encountered through traditional education or their local communities.
One particularly inspiring example came from a student attending a rural school. Although the nearest ocean was more than 2,000 kilometers away, the child said that watching educational videos on social media had inspired them to dream of becoming a marine biologist.
Without access to aquariums, research centers, or coastal environments, the student had discovered an entirely new field through online content.
Stories like this demonstrate that social media can broaden children’s horizons, exposing them to professions that would otherwise remain unfamiliar. Educational creators, scientists, doctors, engineers, wildlife experts, historians, and countless other professionals now use platforms like YouTube and TikTok to share their knowledge with millions of viewers. For some children, these videos become the spark that ignites lifelong ambitions.
The Harsh Reality Behind Internet Fame
However, the researchers also warned that dreams of online fame may eventually lead to disappointment for many young people.
Although social media often showcases glamorous lifestyles filled with luxury homes, expensive cars, worldwide travel, and millions of followers, this represents only a tiny fraction of creators. The overwhelming majority never achieve such success.
Even among influencers who manage to build a substantial audience, financial rewards are often much smaller than children imagine. In the United States, more than half of all content creators earn less than $15,000 per year from their online work.
Many influencers spend years producing videos without earning enough to support themselves financially. Behind every viral success story are countless creators who work long hours editing videos, responding to audiences, negotiating with brands, and constantly competing for attention in an increasingly crowded digital landscape.
Furthermore, online popularity can disappear quickly. Algorithms change, audience interests shift, and trends evolve almost overnight. A creator who enjoys millions of views one month may struggle to reach the same audience only weeks later. Unlike many traditional professions, careers built solely on internet fame often provide little long-term stability or security.
Schools May Be Falling Behind
Professor Simoneau believes another important lesson from the research concerns education itself. He argues that many school career guidance programs have failed to keep pace with the changing world.
Traditional career counseling often focuses on occupations that have existed for decades while giving relatively little attention to emerging digital careers. As a result, students receive advice that sometimes feels disconnected from the realities of modern life.
At the same time, many schools do not adequately teach children about the challenges of building a sustainable career online, including financial uncertainty, competition, digital literacy, copyright, privacy, mental health, and responsible content creation.
Rather than dismissing children’s interest in becoming influencers, Professor Simoneau suggests educators should use it as an opportunity for meaningful conversations.
Schools can help students understand both the opportunities and the limitations of social media careers while encouraging them to develop valuable skills such as communication, critical thinking, creativity, entrepreneurship, digital marketing, photography, video editing, programming, journalism, and media literacy.
Instead of telling children that becoming an influencer is unrealistic, educators can explain that successful content creation often requires the same dedication, education, discipline, and hard work found in any other profession.
A Generation Shaped by Screens
The study highlights how dramatically children’s dreams have evolved in just a single generation. Previous generations admired astronauts after moon landings, athletes after championship victories, or doctors who saved lives.
Today’s children grow up surrounded by smartphones, livestreams, recommendation algorithms, and creators who share every aspect of their daily lives.
Whether this shift ultimately proves beneficial or harmful remains uncertain. Social media has the power both to inspire extraordinary creativity and to create unrealistic expectations about fame and wealth. What is clear, however, is that digital platforms now play a major role in shaping how children imagine their futures.
As technology continues to transform society, parents, teachers, and policymakers face the challenge of helping young people navigate this new landscape. Encouraging ambition is important, but so is ensuring that children understand the realities behind the glamorous images they see online.
By combining digital literacy with practical career education, schools and families can help the next generation pursue their passions while developing the resilience and skills needed to succeed, whether their future lies on a screen, in a laboratory, in a classroom, or even among the stars.
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