What Kids Really Mean by “I Want to Be a YouTuber”

I conducted an interview with 9-year-old Vivaan about their career aspirations.

KOKO: What do you want to be when you grow up? 

Vivaan: A YouTuber! 

KOKO: What kind of videos would you make? 

Vivaan: Unboxing videos! 

KOKO: But... why unboxing videos? 

Vivaan: Because I have ideas about how to make the unboxing more exciting! Like, I'd create stories about where each toy came from and build whole worlds around them. 

Vivaan doesn't want to just unbox stuff. They want to turn something ordinary into something magical through their creative lens. Their dream isn't about fame  -  it's about expression. It's about telling a story. 

Vivaan is far from alone. A Harris Polls and LEGO Survey reveals that kids between the ages of 8 and 12 are three times more likely to aspire to be a YouTuber (29%) than an Astronaut (11%).

The "I Want To Be A YouTuber" Era

If you've been around kids in the last decade, you've probably heard some variation of: "I want to be a YouTuber!" 

And right on cue... parents rolling their eyes. 

All they imagine is subscriber counts, sponsorship deals, and late nights editing videos for the algorithm. Fame - chasing. Clout collecting. The endless pursuit of numbers. 

But when researchers dug deeper into what kids actually want from these careers, money came in fourth place. What topped the list? The opportunity to indulge their creativity, be influential, and express themselves.

For many kids like Vivaan, 'YouTuber' isn't a fame title. It's a creative outlet. It's shorthand for: "I want to share my ideas with the world in a way that's fun and mine."

Now, let's be honest - some kids absolutely do chase views and followers. Some are drawn to glamour and potential wealth. But dismissing all YouTube dreams as shallow misses something important happening beneath the surface. 

Why This Shift is Happening

Research from the 2020 OECD Dream Jobs Report reveals that half of today's teenagers have a deep sense of uncertainty about which traditional professions will even exist when they grow up. And there’s no surprise there - they've seen the world change fast: global pandemic, tech uprising and economic changes and all.

As a result, they prefer careers that offer creative control and self - direction. ‘YouTuber’ is a career they can actually picture - where they call the shots, make what they want, and have fun doing it.

But also - at this young age, their career choices are often based on what looks fun rather than financial logic. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

What Happens When Parents Misread the Dream 

When adults focus too much on the 'YouTuber' part than the 'creating' part, they start to assume all kids crave are views and followers. If I'd taken Vivaan's answer at face value, I probably would've said: "That's nice, but isn't it too competitive? How will you stand out?"

Instead, I asked 'why' - and discovered this dream had nothing to do with competition. It was about storytelling, imagination, and creative expression.

This is exactly why parents should ask their kids not only what they would like to be when they grow up, but also what they would like to ‘do’. The "why" behind the dream often reveals something completely different from what we assume. 

The challenge for parents is helping kids pursue these creative ambitions in healthy ways. The risk comes when this creative impulse gets channeled into chasing metrics rather than exploring ideas. When the joy of creation gets overshadowed by the pressure to perform.

This is exactly why we built the KOKOVERSE, away from the vices of traditional social media. It's built for kids like Vivaan - kids whose ideas are too precious to be shaped by an algorithm.

So the next time your kid says they want to be a YouTuber, resist the urge to immediately think about subscriber counts and brand deals. Instead, ask:

What stories do you want to tell?

And then request access to KOKOVERSE to unlock a creative playground for them.