YouTuber Over Doctor?
Here’s Why Kids Are Changing Career Paths
Children’s dreams are becoming different. Gone are the days when most kids aspired to be doctors, lawyers, or astronauts. Now, their imaginations are captured by a new era of careers—YouTubers, influencers, gamers, and content creators. But can these trendy aspirations last over time? And what steps must be taken to make these virtual goals come true? Let’s discuss how children’s dreams are changing, what it takes to be successful in various fields, and how parents may help their children achieve these changing goals.a
A few decades ago, there was no such thing as careers like influencers. However, with the rise of social media, this path has become more popular. Kids witness influencers leading lavish lifestyles, exploring the globe, and receiving payment for their content creation—all of which appear incredibly glamorous and attractive compared to previous times.
Why This Happened?
A lot of content creators out there started from a humble beginning. They are just regular people sharing about their life, interests or talent to the world. When our kids see any content that they like, they feel relatable to the creators. And when these creators became successful, our kids also feel that they can also achieve the same thing.
Secondly, these digital careers allow for more personal creativity and freedom. Children are drawn to careers where they can create videos, music, or art and share it with the world instantly. There is no restrictions or rules on how they can present themselves online. Thus, making digital careers be seen as a great prospect for their future.
Children of this age are exposed to online streaming platforms and social media from an early age. They consume content on YouTube and TikTok more than traditional TV, so naturally, they start to envision themselves in similar roles.
Are These Dreams Viable?
The short answer is yes. But there are many factors that needs to be considered.
Although there are plenty of success stories that we heard, being a successful YouTuber or influencer is not an easy journey. It takes a lot of skills, perseverance, hard work, and luck. The competition is fierce. Not every content producer can accumulate enough followers to be able to turn their passion into a full-time job. In actuality, a lot of YouTubers and influencers give up or burn out midway after they learned about the challenges and difficulties.
Furthermore, these online careers are less secure or guaranteed compared to other ‘traditional’ jobs. Sponsorships, audience engagement, and algorithm changes all have a significant impact on an influencer’s income. Earnings may be impacted if there is a change in platform’s policies as well.
What Does It Take to Succeed?
If your kids want to be the next big thing on YouTube or TikTok, success is more than just good luck. It needs to be approached strategically.
Firstly, posting quality content and engaging with followers is crucial. It is more than a hobby, it is a full-time commitment. Successful influencers put in long hours behind the scenes, planning, shooting, and editing their content.
Secondly is to be able to relate to your audience and produce content that they will find engaging. Finding what works with the targeted audience takes time, and even if it does, they must always evolve in order to stay relevant.
Not all popular influencers make their living from content creation alone. To guarantee long-term financial security, they produce merchandise, collaborate with brands, organise classes, or launch other business ventures.
If your child wants to be an influencer, taking care of their mental health is important. The constant demand to maintain online personas causes many influencers to experience burnout or mental health issues. It is critical to navigate these challenges while working under the public spotlight.
Parental Support Is Important
The world is changing so are career paths and this is something that parents must understand. Your child’s aspirations to become an influencer or content creator may seem unrealistic to you, but there are ways to successfully mentor them in this direction.
Supporting your child’s creative interests is wonderful, but until they achieve steady success, encourage them to put their education and school first and think about making web content as a part-time job.
On top of that, it is critical for you to help your child develop financial planning skills early on because the income of many of these career is highly changeable and not fixed. This will help them manage their finances wisely when they begin to earn money.
Besides that, with the pressures of social media, it is important to teach your children how to manage screen time, online negativity, and mental health challenges. Educate them to understand that when they expose themselves to the online world, they are also opening doors to a lot of criticism and hate. That is why, it is crucial that you as parents are able to still monitor your child’s online activities and help them deal with online hate.
Whether your child succeeds as a YouTuber or not, the skills they acquire like video editing, communication, and marketing are highly transferable and valuable in many other careers. So, if things do not go like how your child wants, assure them that it is not the end of their life. They can still succeed and utilise their acquired skills in other career fields.
As parents, it is important to remember that your child’s success can happen in many forms. It does not matter if your child wants to follow a more conventional path just like you did or become an influencer. What matters is that you support their passions and get them ready for whatever obstacles they may face. No matter how unusual, their dreams can come true with the correct guidance and support from you.
