Actor? Singer? No, I’d rather be a Youtube star

Primary schoolchildren would rather be a Youtube celebrity than a pop singer or actor, a survey of 13,000 children aged seven to 11 has found. The authors of the report, titled Drawing the Future, said: “For more and more children, online celebrities and Youtube ‘vloggers’ have taken the place of TV and movie stars.”

PRIMARY schoolchildren would rather be a Youtube celebrity than a pop singer or actor, a survey has found.

A report published today analyses the responses of more than 13,000 children aged seven to 11 who were asked by University College London and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development about career aspiraitions.

The fourth most popular answer was pursuing a career in “social media and gaming”. Becoming a singer or musician came ninth and pursuing a career as an actor was ranked 13th.

The authors of the report, titled Drawing the Future, said their findings showed a “shift in the aspirations of children”, which they said is “built largely upon new communication methods and the growth of online and console based gaming”.

It continued: “For more and more children and young people, online celebrities

‘Aspirations ... built largely upon the growth of online and console gaming’

and Youtube gaming vloggers have taken the place of TV and movie stars.”

The report, commissioned by Education and Employers, a charity, explained why becoming a social media star has rocketed in popularity among children. “It could be argued that this is due to the growing fame and attraction of Youtube and video blogging stars, who are especially popular among younger audiences,” the report said.

“While it may be argued that this new Youtube based ‘celebrity’ culture may be an issue or problem, these careers – vloggers, professional gamers and game designers – are increasingly valid career options for children and young people.”

The report noted that the gaming industry was larger in terms of revenue than the film industry.

The most popular career choice for boys was being a sportsman, followed by social media or gaming.

Becoming a teacher or lecturer was the most popular option for girls, followed by vet, sportswoman, doctor and artist.