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I'm older than the kids today and when I grew up I wanted to be a singer or a sportsperson and everyone else did. It's just another wild dream, it's normal to want to be cool and rich and famous when you're a kid.

The kids know the grind is bullshit, and they see becoming an influencer as a way to escape that.

I have a strong doubt that kids see influencers as an "escape" from the grind, but rather as a "cool" career path where they can get fame and admiration from many people without a whole lot of study or physical labour put in.

Kids have always had wild career dreams, it's not new it's just a different medium. It's fine. I'm not sure it's a conscious decision to escape the grind though. I grew up with kids who wanted to be movie stars or athletes. Why? Because they idolised movie stars and athletes and want to be like them. It's what they're exposed to the most. Now kids are exposed to influencers the most, so they wanna be one too.

I wanted to be a train driver 🚂

I feel that depending on what kind of content creation it is, some of the people balking at those kids who want to be influencers don’t realize that it is still a lot of work. This is being a freelance entertainer, you still need to learn strategies. I’m preparing to start VTubing (independently) at 20 as a side hustle, and there is an astounding amount of preparation to do it well. Also, these content creator lifestyles can also be appealing for disabled/chronically ill people like myself. A good community will wish you well, understand, and not ask you for a doctor’s note if you need time off frequently; a manager at a corporate job, not so much. Disabled or not, everyone deserves flexibility, and being an influence can support that well.

Me and my fiance were looking at dolls and tbh i found it sad. They had these "i can be anything" set and the doll in question was a barista doll. What kid honestly wants to work for Starbucks for the rest of their life? Kids deserve better, bigger dreams than we give em