While children used to dream of becoming astronauts and doctors when they grew up, today's youth would much rather become TikTok stars.

According to a new study, even seven-year-olds are now naming social media influencer as their number one dream job.

Researchers found that 60 percent of middle and high school students state they want to become bloggers or have chosen their future profession under the influence of social media, the Daily Mail reports. When researchers asked children what they wanted to be in the future, many simply drew the TikTok or YouTube logo. These tech-savvy kids explained to scientists that social media stars are "famous" and "make a lot of money."

Although older students were more likely to mention professions like electrician, engineer, teacher, or welder, the desire to become a screen star proved to be a common thread for both young children and teenagers. Even students who did not crave fame themselves often admitted that social media inspired them to choose a particular career path.

Other popular choices included soccer players, musicians, actors, and—naturally—princesses.

YouTube Instead of School

Since 2021, researchers have been surveying elementary, middle, and high school students (starting from age seven) in the United States, expanding the study to Norway in 2024 to understand how children envision their future careers.

For their latest study, scientists surveyed 80 children aged 7 to 11 and 140 middle and high school students in Wisconsin, as well as over 60 of their peers in Norway. During each test, children were given simple prompts like, "When I grow up, I would like to be..." and were asked how they learned about that profession.

This revealed striking similarities in the career aspirations of American and Norwegian children.

Professor Matthew Simonot of the University of Wisconsin, the lead author of the upcoming research paper, wrote in an article for The Conversation:

"A second-grader in Norway drew the YouTube logo when my colleagues and I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. When we asked the same question to second-graders in Wisconsin, we were surprised to receive similar answers: local kids also overwhelmingly want to be YouTubers."

Professor Simonot notes that their data points to a colossal rise in the influence of social media on the career expectations of the younger generation.

"In some cases, seven-year-old students in Wisconsin and Norway just drew the YouTube or TikTok logo or wrote that they aspire to be 'influencers,' without having any concept of who or what they actually intend to influence," he says.

However, the impact of social media is not always purely negative. The researchers discovered that online content inspired some students toward entirely tangible professions. For instance, one student from a rural area shared that social media inspired him to become a marine biologist—despite the fact that the nearest ocean is over 2,000 kilometers away.

A Harsh Reality and Outdated School Curriculums

Nevertheless, researchers warn that dreams of stardom and celebrity status could be setting the next generation up for serious disappointment.

Even among those influencers who successfully build an audience, more than half of all content creators in the US earn less than $15,000 a year.

In a broader sense, Professor Simonot warns that outdated school career guidance programs are increasingly disconnected from reality, failing to provide children with the advice they truly need.