Adobe surveyed 1,000 people in the US between the ages of 18 to 30, and 501 parents of under 18 kids to find out how influencing on social media is shaping career goals and aspirations of young people. The results of the survey showed that one in three people between the ages of 18 and 30 want to be an influencer, with gaming (49%) and lifestyle (46%) being the most desired content category. Boys are more inclined to become an influencer in the gaming category (68%), while girls prefer influencing about lifestyle(61%). YouTube was the most preferred platform overall for influencing among the respondents.
Upon being asked why they prefer to become an influencer, most replies were of flexibility in work hours, opportunity to show creativity, better pay than other jobs and opportunities for travel. Respondents said that they are also looking for ways to improve their skills in influencing. 49% are learning social media strategy, 45% are learning personal branding and 44% are learning short-form video editing. Most of the aspiring influencers and parents said that influencers should be able to take influencer classes in high schools.
Parents are also facing challenges when it comes to their children’s online social media presence. 25% of the parents said that they allow their children to post on Instagram while 23% parents allow their children to post on YouTube. Overall, 82% of parents monitor their child’s followers on social media platforms, while 83% monitor their child’s posts too. 1 in 4 parents said that they have seen their children pretend to be an influencer while playing. 58% of the parents also said that they don’t allow their children to post on social media.
Parents also have mixed views when it comes to their children becoming influencers. 49% of the parents said that they’d only allow their children to become influencers if they are older than 18, while 24% answered with straight no. The top concerns parents feel if their child is becoming an influencer are loss of privacy (80%), safety risks (79%), negative effect on mental health (74%) and cyberbullying (71%). On the other hand, some parents (38%) think that becoming an influencer will be a good career move for their child.
Read next: Forget Privacy: 59% of Users Don’t Trust Their Data Is Safe—Here’s Why
Upon being asked why they prefer to become an influencer, most replies were of flexibility in work hours, opportunity to show creativity, better pay than other jobs and opportunities for travel. Respondents said that they are also looking for ways to improve their skills in influencing. 49% are learning social media strategy, 45% are learning personal branding and 44% are learning short-form video editing. Most of the aspiring influencers and parents said that influencers should be able to take influencer classes in high schools.
Parents are also facing challenges when it comes to their children’s online social media presence. 25% of the parents said that they allow their children to post on Instagram while 23% parents allow their children to post on YouTube. Overall, 82% of parents monitor their child’s followers on social media platforms, while 83% monitor their child’s posts too. 1 in 4 parents said that they have seen their children pretend to be an influencer while playing. 58% of the parents also said that they don’t allow their children to post on social media.
Parents also have mixed views when it comes to their children becoming influencers. 49% of the parents said that they’d only allow their children to become influencers if they are older than 18, while 24% answered with straight no. The top concerns parents feel if their child is becoming an influencer are loss of privacy (80%), safety risks (79%), negative effect on mental health (74%) and cyberbullying (71%). On the other hand, some parents (38%) think that becoming an influencer will be a good career move for their child.
Read next: Forget Privacy: 59% of Users Don’t Trust Their Data Is Safe—Here’s Why
