Why Do All Children Want To Be Youtubers?

Children want to be youtubers , influencers and gamers . The new professions related to online entertainment platforms are coveted by the little ones. But, why this fixation on these professions? Is it positive that your son wants to be youtuber ?

In this article, we answer these questions and explain some risks and consequences of electronic device abuse in children.

New professions: children want to be youtubers and influencers

The top professions most desired by children has changed systematically. Although jobs as a footballer, doctor or police are still on the list of the most desired professions, those related to social networks or streaming have been among them.

It is not something you have to wait until you are of age, have a career, or get into a good sports club. Children who want to be youtubers know or refer to boys their age who are already a reference on the Internet.

We are talking about children who want to be youtubers , creating videos about games, giving their opinion on different topics, showing themselves as teachers in some of their passions or sharing some facet of their life. Others want to build content profiles, hoping to get large numbers of followers.

In addition, other platforms related to streaming games have motivated many young people to turn their video game skills into a source of income. For this reason and other more secondary reasons, children want to be youtubers , but also to become gamers or influencers .

Why do children want to be youtubers or similar?

Children want to be youtubers or similar for two main reasons. First, the numbers related to the use of smartphones in children continue to increase exponentially. Currently, more than 50% of children under the age of eight own their own devices and use them on a daily basis. In addition, the main activity of these children is focused on the use of platforms such as YouTube or related to video games.

In addition to the use of booming platforms, children want to be youtubers because that is how their referents are. A few years ago, the main childhood references were certain athletes or singers and that made them crave professions such as footballer or artist respectively. Currently, the fame, fortune or success of these new professions attract the eyes of the little ones.

Risks to children and technology

That a child wants to be youtuber or similar does not in itself have any risk. However, the excessive use of technology at a young age can become problematic. Here are some of the risks that this abusive use can cause in children and adolescents.

• The fine line between fact and fiction. Children do not have full brain maturity until past adolescence. For this reason, and especially at younger ages, children have difficulty distinguishing between fact and fiction. In the same way that young children cannot watch horror movies due to this lack of maturity, they should not have access to certain YouTube videos or violent video games.
• It aggravates problems related to tolerance for frustration. New technologies mean immediacy: on YouTube you can go from one recommended video to another without hardly being aware of it. A child, who is still learning to wait his turn or regulate his own emotions, is not able to stop this addictive maelstrom from which adults often cannot escape. It is for this reason that many children get nervous and even aggressive when they have to put down the devices.

• The truncated need to physically deplete energy. Technological devices represent a high activation in children who, at their young age, need to manage through physical exercise. However, this activation leaves them sitting, without moving and, for this reason, many children after its use are very upset and nervous.
• The brain does not train as it needs to. Children’s enormous brain plasticity is what allows them to be such “learning sponges.” Although with technology children can learn a lot, they also need the practice of other skills such as psychomotor skills, symbolic thinking or social skills.

Less screens and more symbolic play (even if it is for children who want to be youtubers)

Many children today aspire to new professions related to social networks and online entertainment platforms. Children want to be youtubers , gamers or influencers because that is how their main references are.

However, their abusive use of technology is an issue that worries many parents and professionals. Due to this problem, many children have problems related to addiction to devices, low tolerance for frustration or other psychological problems related to biological maturation and social skills.

Although the use of technology can be very useful, it is also true that children who want to be YouTubers need fewer screens and more symbolic play. Symbolic game to develop empathy, release stress and develop imagination, even if this symbolic game consists precisely of playing to be youtuber .