We know kids want to be content creators. As far back as 2017, career surveys started to make one thing very clear: Children these days are growing up watching YouTubers, TikTokers, and Twitch streamers, and want to become just like them. There’s even a growing number of camps designed to help kids and teens get started.
But what about adults?
Well, it turns out they want to be content creators, too. A new study from influencer marketing agency IZEA found that 54% of people in the U.S. ages 18 to 60 would quit their jobs if they could make a living as a full-time content creator.
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And, perhaps surprisingly, the number actually skews higher as respondents get older. For that question, 49.6% of respondents 18-29 said yes, they would quit their job. The figure goes up to 51.9% for ages 30-44, then jumps significantly to a whopping 60.1% of people ages 45-60. Respondents who are 60+ also want in on our industry, with 31.5% of them saying they’d ditch their current job.
Another figure that rises with age is the number of people who already consider themselves to be influencers. Of the 1,217 people IZEA surveyed for this study (all of whom are social media users), 26% said they’re currently content creators.
That number is highest among people ages 45-60, where 38.2% of respondents said yes. It drops to 27.7% for people ages 30-44, and to 26.2% for people ages 18-29. (That’s interesting considering 65% of Gen Z respondents to YouTube‘s latest Culture and Trends Report self-identified as creators.)
So what’s driving this interest, and even participation, from older folks? One clue lies in the rest of IZEA’s report. 41% of all respondents said they personally knew someone–like a family member, friend, or coworker–who’s made money as a social media influencer. That means they’re seeing how content creation can pay off for people they relate to, making the idea of success as a creator less lofty and more achievable.
Respondents were also pretty savvy about the money that can be made from brand deals. 64% of people said they’d do a brand deal involving them promoting products on their accounts. Again, that number grows with respondents’ age: 75.2% of people ages 30-44 said yes, compared to 69% of 18-29-year-olds. (That could be because of ad fatigue among Gen Z–and the rest of us, really, but especially Gen Z.)
Since a little over half of respondents say they’re currently employed full-time, it’s possible they, like lots of people in the U.S., are seeing cost of living continuing to go up while their wages stay the same. They may be looking at the ever-growing $250 billion creator economy, whether they know someone personally earning from it or not, as a way for them to step up their income.
It’s worth noting respondents might not truly understand the effort that goes into content creation. As short-form video has made becoming a creator more and more accessible, there’s also been an increase in the sentiment that content creation is the easy street to millions in earnings. We know that’s not true, and we’re guessing if these people do decide to give content a shot, they’ll find out just how much work it is–and, if they stick with it, how rewarding that work can be.
