A New Dream Job: Social Media Influencers

The Value of Family Movie Nights There are ways to motivate kids toward the ideas of belief, values and character qualities without the use of physical restraints or stern parental glares. September 18, 2026 Is there really a path to online fame and easy money for our kids? Estimated reading time: 6 minutes Ask a kid what they want to be when they grow up, and you might hear an enthusiastic, “A social media content creator!” But what is a content creator and why is it one of our kids’ top dream jobs? Is there really a path to online fame and easy money for our kids? A couple years ago, young people couldn’t get enough of Fleetwood Mac’s song “Dreams.” The catchy tune hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock Digital Song Sales chart and averaged more than 1 million streams each day. What’s so unusual about this chart-topping success is that “Dreams” originally released in 1977. Why the sudden interest in a song that came out decades before streaming was possible? Was it part of a soundtrack? Featured on a commercial or popular TV show? No, “Dreams” hit the charts after TikTok user 420doggface208, whose real name is Nathan Apodaca, included it in a video. Nathan is a social media content creator and has achieved the status of influencer — someone who posts videos and generates viral interest and a large viewership. And for Nathan, it’s working. His lighthearted videos have now amassed more than 7.4 million followers and nearly 150 million likes on TikTok, demonstrating the lasting influence a single viral moment can have on social media. His success, and others like him, make being a social media influencer one of our kids’ new dream jobs. Those big numbers generate more than just bragging rights. There’s big money involved, too. It comes from the platforms, as well as paid sponsorships from companies looking to leverage an influencer’s popularity. One of the most successful child content creators remains Ryan Kaji, influencer and the creator of Ryan’s World. What began as a toy-review channel has grown into a multimedia brand that includes entertainment, consumer products, and educational content. Today, Ryan’s primary YouTube channel has more than 40 million subscribers and over 63 billion lifetime views. Not bad for a young guy who’s still in elementary school. Those sorts of numbers help explain why “social media influencer” and “YouTube star” have become popular career aspirations for many young people. Several studies have found that content creation ranks among young people’s most desirable careers. In a widely cited LEGO/Harris Poll survey, 29% of U.S. children ages 8-12 said they wanted to become YouTubers or vloggers, compared with only 11% who aspired to become astronauts. This has obviously become one of our kids’ top dream jobs. It’s not hard to see where those aspirational impulses might be coming from. Popularity, influence, and money have been some of the main building blocks of teens’ self-esteem for a couple of generations now. And when it comes to the role of a social media content creator, those elements have coalesced into something many tweens and teens think they could do, too. When they see someone as young as Ryan playing with toys and raking in millions, they might think, “I can do that.” In years past, it was common for young people to be infatuated with the idea of becoming a rock star or actress. But the odds stacked against them were formidable and obvious. Becoming a social media content creator and raking in millions seems more attainable. After all, the only thing you need is a camera, a pretty smile, and a bit of viral luck–right? Not so fast. Marketing analyst Natalya Saldanha understands that kids may be drawn to the apparent ease of achieving fame and mega-success simply by opening toys, but reality is something very different. “The fact is most wannabe influencers have as much a chance of walking on the moon as they do of emulating Ryan Kaji,” Natalya writes. “They’ll be lucky, in fact, to earn as much as someone working at a fast-food joint.” Being a successful social media content creator is all about one thing: consumerism. It’s about identifying and promoting products — at least if you want to get paid. In an article titled “How Your Kid Can Become a Social Media Influencer,” Shay Jiles talked with DFWChild about how she and her children promote their Instagram channel. “Make sure you are tagging your posts,” she noted, “everything from the chips you are eating to the shoes you are wearing, so the brand picks it up and reposts it.” Then you have their followers saying, ‘Who are these people?’” Even if your child understands that becoming a social media influencer is much harder than it looks, there are more practical concerns parents need to be aware of. First, personal security issues remain a real concern. A successful social media star by definition has millions of eyeballs on him or her. And though I’m sure, for instance, that young Ryan’s parents have spent a good deal of his fortune securing a safe place to live, they have no idea who is watching those videos or how people are interacting with images of their son. As a parent of kids in that age range myself, I find that more than a little unsettling. There are also spiritual questions to ponder. Even though a social media content creator is invariably pushing a product, the product is ultimately the person doing all that pushing. A lack of likes, demeaning comments about appearance, and criticism, in general, are all a part of the deal here. Social Media shouldn’t define your teen. Nevertheless, teens are wrapped up in their online persona. The most serious question we as parents have to wrestle with, is how all that might shape his or her soul. It’s good for kids to dream about who they might become and the kind of influence they hope to have in our world. As parents we have a responsibility to understand how social media is reshaping their understanding of what that influence might look like, and to respond with wisdom and discernment as we help them navigate our rapidly changing times. Maybe your kids have no desire to become internet stars, and being a social media influencer is not one of your kid’s dream jobs. But are they following social media influencers? Here are important questions to dive into as a family: Social media content creators may be a new thing in the lives of tweens and teens. But the concept of influence — of what values are shaping their hearts, beliefs, and convictions — goes back a great deal further. In Romans 12:2, Paul wrote, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” Paul understood that the world’s value system is constantly squeezing and molding how we think and what we consider to be most important. The only antidote to that is focusing on biblical truth. Only then we can recognize and embrace “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable” (Philippians 4:8).