What did you want to be when you were younger? A hairdresser? A zookeeper? Or maybe even an astronaut?
The careers we pick for ourselves during our early years rarely work out. For example, I spent my childhood dreaming about working in a bank (weird, I know).
Despite this fact, what kids want to be when they are older can say a lot about the environment that they are growing up in.
A recent survey has found that social media and gaming are becoming a more common career aspiration for 21st-century children.
The survey, which involved 13,000 UK primary school children, found that many 7 to 11-year-olds are looking to modern technology for future careers instead of more traditional professions like police officer or doctor.
The study was conducted by the Education and Employers charity. They asked children to draw a picture of what they wanted to do when they grew up.
They were then asked questions, such as whether they knew anyone who did this for a living, and how they knew about the profession.
21% of the children surveyed wanted to be a sportsperson, making it the top choice. This was followed by teacher (11%), vet (7%), and finally social media and gaming (6%).
The charity’s report said there seemed to have been “a shift in the aspirations of children, built largely upon new communication methods and the growth of online and console-based gaming”.
“For more and more children and young people, online celebrities and YouTube gaming vloggers have taken the place of TV and movie stars.”
