Every 13-year-old will be able to tell you what an influencer is: they will understand what their job entails, how they earn money, and what their everyday life looks like. Most will even be able to list a few of their favourite ones. On the other hand, very few 13-year-olds will be able to do the same for a Legal Clerk, a Medical Director or an Agriculture Manager. As a result of high exposure to online influencers – either first-hand on social media or depicted in TV shows and films – and by a general shift in mainstream media to legitimise this occupation, Generation Alpha are aspiring more than ever before towards entrepreneurial careers and away from traditional employment.  

This generation has never been without a digital companion, either a tablet, mobile phone or TV screen, and the effects are palpable. While we tell ourselves their online ecosystem is limited to YouTube Kids or parent-approved apps, 29% of children aged 12 and under report bypassing new age verification measures in the last 2 months. The core reason for this is to join social media apps they are not yet old enough to use: 90% of 8-12-year-olds say they use at least one social media platform with a minimum age of 13-years-old, namely YouTube, WhatsApp and TikTok.  

While in these online spaces, children are encountering more one-man content creators talking directly to camera: sit down chatty videos, get-ready-with-me and routine based content, vlogging and lifestyle content. Coming out of the highly produced arena of made-for-children content, Generation Alpha’s first foray into the wider realm of entertainment is introducing them to an aesthetic version of adult life. With their physical and cognitive capabilities still limited to childhood standards, adult life looks like play, and – as children are wanting to do – they begin to imitate it. 

This is not a new trend, but rather a call-back to the Sephora Kids of late 2023. Now, however, the phenomenon of children consuming and producing content on the internet is not a one-off discussion point, but a wave of cultural change. PwC's 2026 Generation Alpha Survey declares "Generation Alpha can swipe before they can write" and that "by the time Gen Alpha reaches adulthood, many could have a decade of entrepreneurial experience". The reality of a childhood online is that generation Alpha are actively engaging in the global economy both as consumers and producers before they have graduated high school. 

PwC outline in this report the spending and consumer behaviours of children aged 7-14-years-old, with insight also gained from parents to children of the same age. A chapter in this report describes emerging consumer behaviours in the form of personas. Three of five personas - Young Founders, Fit Checkers and Glow Getters – are described as hustlers, earning money primarily by making social media content.  

  • “This group of kids likes to hustle, perhaps reselling items online and buying collectible cards or used clothes with their earnings.” Young Founders Persona.  

  • “Some earn money promoting products online, turning their style preferences into a side hustle.” Fit Checkers Persona.  

  • “Some earn money sharing product recommendations online.” Glow Getters Persona  

These descriptions suggest that children are taking advantage of content monetisation on social media to earn money. A far cry from the lemonade stand at the end of the garden, tweens and teens are taking ‘entrepreneur’ to a whole new level when they enter the sophisticated online structure of content production and income generation. This gives them a sense of their volatile economic value: dependent on engagement, children still in primary school can be making thousands of pounds on a single video. When £10 pocket money doesn’t even cover a cinema ticket and popcorn, you can imagine the excitement this potential income can generate.  

An interest in self-employment was also evident in Gen Z, and these shifting behaviours are reflected as early as 2019: 

  • "As many as 17 per cent of 11-16 year olds want to be a social media influencer when they grow up." Aphrodite Papadatou, HR Review, January 2019 

  • "New UK data reveal that the majority (69%) of 16-26 year olds are considering or already have careers in freelancing, self employment and side hustles over full-time employment." Fiverr Team, February 2024  

  • "More than half of young people want to be influencers — 57%, to be exact." Gili Malinsky, CNBC, September 2024  

In a time of economic uncertainty, with trouble in employment, property and politics, it is no surprise that young people are taking more control in any way they can. In March 2024, Businesses Matters said, "Key reasons cited for veering away from full-time employment include a perceived lower risk of layoffs or replacement by AI, stability associated with self-employed and freelance careers, and a perception of diminished loyalty from UK companies towards employees." 

 

There is already evidence of increased difficulty for young people to enter the workforce in a traditional way. Extracts from ‘7 charts that explain why the job market is so tough right now’ by Rachel Lerman and Luis Melgar illustrate the uninspiring work environment young people are entering: 

  • “Businesses have slowed hiring, in large part because global uncertainty has made them wary to expand too much when things could change dramatically at any moment.”  

  • “… people are opting out of the labor force after long searches for jobs have yielded no fruit.”  

  • “Workers are having to make compromises to get into the workforce.”  

With such grim horizons for the fresh faces of the labour force, there is little surprise that many are turning away from institutions and rather relying on themselves for income. The Fiverr Team also say, “Not only does freelancing and self-employment offer a stable path to be their own boss or to own their own business, but it also allows for Gen Z to have total autonomy over their own lives.” In January of this year, Tiffany Dufu told Forbes writer Alli Kushner that, “Once you see that you don’t need a middleman in order to make money, it’s hard to go back.” This is becoming increasingly evident in how young people approach employment and income. 

By listening to what the experts are telling us about the current state of the work force and the difficulties young people are facing, it is easy to imagine that some would choose an alternative route. Rather than relying on others to provide them with employment, the new adults of Gen Z and Gen Alpha are going to lean further into the ‘stability’ of being self-employed, namely as influencers. With practically no barrier to entry – a phone and some confidence – and constantly churning landscape of the algorithm, becoming an influencer seems like the easy first step to building a brand, owning a business and entering legitimate C-suite occupation without having to go through the trials of interviewing in central London. 

However, while young people believe self-employment as an influencer is the more ‘stable’ career path in the current economic environment, there are still incredible dangers in this approach. While it allows young people more autonomy and control over their trajectory, there is little guarantee in profitability to this high-investment undertaking. Already, the online market is oversaturated with independent creators, and with the influx of AI influencers or the current surge of ‘clip farming’, there is no assurance that each new operator will ever see return from time spent. 

Alternatively, there is the potential for a hybridised approach to income. To ensure steady income and take advantage of benefits provided by employers, young people may enter employment but operate ‘side-hustles’ to subsidise their income with extra cash and take some sense of control over their situation. The risk here is that everything becomes work, and there is little opportunity for rest or distance from the job. This also presents the risk of two things done half well, rather than fully dedicating yourself to one thing.  

No matter which approaches each individual will take, there is evidence of a generational shift in attitudes. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are putting themselves first, whether that means rejecting compromise in the work force, prioritising passion and joy in a career, or rejecting the regular 9-5 all together for a more idealistic lifestyle of 100% control over their own schedules. As a result, not only will employers need to change things up to attract this new generation, but the landscape of social media and marketing will change with a generational influx of independent influencers making a name for themselves.  

 

As Gen Alpha age into the work force and reject traditional career paths, not for lack of skill or ambition but for lack of interest, they will turn to self-employment and an online gig-economy for greater ‘stability’ in the face of change in traditional employment. Gen Alpha adults – entrepreneurial in spirit, confident in self-representation and completely disheartened by what companies have to offer them – will not sacrifice their chance at fame, wealth and autonomy in exchange for a 48-hour contract with 22 days annual leave. Instead, they will rely on the skills they have been curating since 7-years-old to carve out a space for themselves in the attention economy online.  

 

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