Study Proves Kids Today Just Want To Be Famous
Posted by: Kate Torgovnick
Filed in:
news
9:00AM, Sunday October 4th 2009
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a veterinarian. And then a firefighter. Then a marine biologist. Then a screenwriter. But according to a study of 3,000 kids in the U.K., today’s pre-teens have very, very different goals: Twelve percent want to be sports stars; eleven percent want to be pop stars; and 11 percent want to be famous actors. That means that more than a third of kids today want to live the lifestyle of the rich and famous. And while there’s sure to still be a lot of reality TV slots available when they come of age, what’s gonna happen when this fame thing doesn’t pan out for 99 percent of them—are we going to have an entire generation in therapy because the paparazzi isn’t stalking their every move? After the jump, see how today’s kids’ career goals stack up against those of 25 years ago. And chime in on whether you think we’re going to hell in a handbasket or not.
Kids’ Career Goals Today
- Sports star: 12%
- Pop star: 11%
- Actor: 11%
- Astronaut: 9%
- Lawyer: 9%
- Emergency services: 7%
- Medicine: 6%
- Chef: 5%
- Teacher: 4%
- Vet: 3%
Kids’ Career Goals 25 Years Ago
- Teacher: 15%
- Finance: 9%
- Medicine: 7%
- Scientist: 6%
- Vet: 6%
- Lawyer: 6%
- Sports star: 5%
- Astronaut: 4%
- Beautician/hairdresser: 4%
- Archaeologist: 3%
TheFrisky.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network
MissChaotic
wrote on October 4 2009 @ 08:44 am: [report]
At least being a lawyer has increased. I wonder if that has something to do with all the shows about rich lawyers though.
lewomack
wrote on October 4 2009 @ 10:04 am: [report]
I bet it’s because of the crime dramas. Casey Novak on Law & Order: SVU made me consider applying to law school for awhile.
CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on October 4 2009 @ 10:31 am: [report]
Wow, scientist went from 6% to off the top ten…we are doomed. Idiocracy here we come.
Emi
wrote on October 4 2009 @ 10:35 am: [report]
I wanted to own a bakery and be an astronaut when I was a kid (and be the first person to live and die on Mars, lol). Now I’m going into graphic design.
I’m guessing most of them will grow up and change their minds.
cali_candy
wrote on October 4 2009 @ 11:13 am: [report]
ugh, I’m not surprised they want to be famous…nowadays, you don’t need any smidgen of talent whatsoever (or even be that good looking, ahem SPEIDI) to get your mug plastered on TV and magazine covers and make more $$ per trashy reality TV episode than most people make in a year.
LunaLena
wrote on October 4 2009 @ 02:36 pm: [report]
Is it really shocking? Nowadays, especially with the Internet and all, all kids see is how much rich and famous people are idolized and fawned over and how glamorous their lives are.
I’d love to know what age group they’re talking about. I’ll be a lot more concerned if these are older teens that they’re talking about, rather than kids under the age of 10.
Trixie Firecracker
wrote on October 4 2009 @ 03:24 pm: [report]
Anything you read from the Daily Mail should be taken with a grain of salt. They call it the Daily Fail for a reason.
writergirl
wrote on October 4 2009 @ 04:12 pm: [report]
@Trixie Firecracker—A similar study about US College kids, too. In 2007, 81% of college kids wanted to be rich, 51% wanted to be famous. Numbers probably haven’t changed all that much in the past two years. Correlating with that, is a rise in NPI among college students, also for 2007. And the two are believed to be related.
cheapestguyhealth
wrote on October 5 2009 @ 04:40 am: [report]
Of course all of us wants to be famous to be well known world wide. They say that we have 30 seconds to fame.
I Go To 11
wrote on October 5 2009 @ 06:28 am: [report]
@ misschaotic and lewomack: I briefly entertained the idea of becoming a lawyer back when I was in 6th grade. My goal was to attend Harvard Law to do so. My reasoning? I’d gotten a Harvard sweatshirt as a hand-me-down and heard it was a good school, and if I became a lawyer it’d help me become the first female president. Pretty funny considering I’d also entertained the idea of becoming a paleontologist and moving to Montana to dig up fossils the year before. Needless to say, I didn’t follow through with either of those career paths.
I Go To 11
wrote on October 5 2009 @ 06:33 am: [report]
@ lunalena: Good point. My 5-year-old constantly changes her mind on what she wants to be when she grows up. She’s said she wants to be a pop star (thanks, Hannah Montana), “army girl”, veteranarian (that’s her most recent idea), and also seems to think working retail is a glamorous career path. (I’ll do all I can to convince her otherwise, having worked retail in the past!)
SouthOC
wrote on October 5 2009 @ 09:46 am: [report]
When my son was little, he wanted to be a Lion Tamer… Awesome!
@ Cheapestguyhealth: I think you’re referring to Andy Warhol’s 1968 statement: “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.”
planmistercap
wrote on October 14 2009 @ 08:19 pm: [report]
Yes cheapestguyhealth is right everyone of us will be given a chance to be famous in the future.
planmistercap
wrote on October 14 2009 @ 08:36 pm: [report]
When I was a little I dream about to be in a film or found myself in a Billboard endorsing a product…in that way I want to be famous.
smallbizdudecalculator
wrote on November 1 2009 @ 03:45 am: [report]
Dreaming to be famous is one of the kids aim in life…there’s nothing wrong with it as long as you are responsible and God fearing.
automisterleon
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 08:20 pm: [report]
everyone on Earth will be given a chance to become famous…