“What would you rather be on growing up, a YouTuber or an astronaut?”
This question was asked to almost 3000 children in the age group 8 to 12 from countries, including the UK, US, and China, by Lego, a toy production company Lego. Surprisingly, the results show that they are three times more likely to be a Youtuber than an astronaut.
At some point in time, every kid wanted to be an astronaut. They dreamt of floating in space, wearing white and blue spacesuits, discovering planets, and eating ice-creams on the moon.
However, not anymore.
Why do kids want to be YouTubers?
More and more kids these days are aspiring to be youtubers rather than opting for lucrative professions. There was a time when kids aimed to be doctors, astronauts, scientists and engineers. But due to the digital shift and the age of generation influencers, kids today dream of being a youtube star or a content creator; they dream of owning their own Youtube channel.
While earlier kids grew up watching movies and shows related to spacecraft and planets and reading books about astronomy, kids these days consume knowledge differently. Children consume hours of media watching featuring their favourite Youtube stars reviewing a toy or talking about fast-moving cars and their likes. Many social media stars are like celebrities for young children. Their digital identity has taken over completely, and they are viewed as kids’ favourites. Also, the easy accessibility to being a youtube star is one of the major reasons for this. Although being a content creator is not an easy ride, it comes with its own perks.
The influential world of Youtube has not only entertained kids but has changed their aspirations completely. Gen Z is blindsided by social media exposure these days. Over the last 8 years, many children have been hopping on the blogging bandwagon, and surprisingly youtube has become their new babysitter.
The YouTube Boom
Youtube has more than 1.5 billion active monthly users who watch a billion hours of videos every day. More than 50% of millennials are inspired more by YouTubers than celebrities. Some primary reasons for this are that they are drawn to creativity, fame, self-expression, money and recognition. Many kids feel that the YouTubers understand them better than their family or peers. These content creators have inspired and aspired millennials to pursue the dream of being digital stars as compared to other professions.
Creator Economy’s Rapid Growth
The creator economy is wide; it is growing rapidly. The onslaught of digital content paves the way for many millennials to be content creators. These digital influencers are like stars for these young kids. This is the reason kids these days have shifted towards new aspirations. Also, in the past many years, the medium and the type of content have changed. Earlier, kids used to watch cartoon shows, puppet shows, or other informative stuff on television. However, these days if not under parental guidance, kids end up watching shows not designated for their age group. This has become a major concern for many parents. Many videos, such as teenagers unwrapping toys or building lego sets, are popular among kids.
Another reason for this shift in desire is that parents find it easy to let their kids sit and watch youtube videos rather than talking and discussing things with them. There is a lack of transfer of educational or informative information from the parents’ end.
Conclusion
It is a widely accepted fact that the aspirations and choices of millennials have changed and taken a 180-degree turn towards aspirations of being a content creator, as compared to more traditional choices, including astronauts or scientists. As the space is growing, kids have decided to make a massive shift in their choice as well, and choose to make videos over anything else. One common example is the 22-year-old Mr Beast, a famous Youtuber with more than 92 million subscribers. His net worth is around $12 million.
At TagMango, we help content creators to attract and equip their potential audiences directly. TagMango is a mobile and web app-based SAAS platform that provides a creator’s economy with the payment gateway, a chat feature, landing page builder, inbuilt video-hosting, and a wide range of tools for seamlessly hosting cohort-based live courses and workshops.
For deeper insights on the creator economy and how creators can monetise – check out TagMango!
