Thread by @garius

One of the interesting things from chatting to our students in the SU (back when we could!) and from talking to friends kids, is that:

"Become a Content Creator!"

Is, to a lot of them, the same as me saying:

"I want to be a game tester!"

As a kid. /1

https://twitter.com/midgeman/status/1321411484459651072

That is, that it was part of the adventure of me first realising:

1) Shit. I'm going to need a job one day
2) I don't want to do boring stuff
3) I'm NEVER going to be a footballer, am I?
4) A lot of my idols are in games
5) Hang on, can i play them FOR WORK?!

On top of that, kids RIGHT NOW watch/background watch streamers in the same way that we used to watch TV.

And they're RARELY watching small streamers - unless they know them personally. They're watching big streamers, at the top of the game, with sponsors.

And on top of this, they're picking up background noise in the playground, and in mainstream TV (and via social media ads) about how being an influencer = free stuff and an easy life.

Basically the stuff the Daily Mail tries to scare boomers with, they go:

"Wow. Sounds ace."

And honestly: Why WOULDN'T it?

I mean, if i was their age, I'd think the same thing and go into this stuff with the same false expectations.

Because the whole content creator thing is moving faster than schools/parents can understand it and offer career advice in it.

Honestly, it's LITERALLY no different from me going to my careers advisor in 1996 and saying:

"I want to be a games programmer or tester"

And them saying:

"I don't think you can really do that unless you live in America."

I mean, shit. Know what my original plan for my history dissertation was in 2001?

A brief history of the UK Games Industry.

Couldn't do it. Uni history department firmly, but politely, told me THERE WASN'T ENOUGH HISTORY THERE WORTH STUDYING.

In 2001.

So all this is a long way of saying that we're currently in a period where a LOT of kids are growing up, wanting to be content creators, but they are getting NO PROPER GUIDANCE on:

1) What that means
2) The amount of work it is
3) Expectations management

That's not to say that plenty of good CREATORS aren't trying to do this. Across all the ranges of creation - music, cosplay, gaming and more. I've seen great stuff from the likes of @itsginnydi, @Cringer63 @emmablackery @midgeman and more on here and elsewhere on the subject.

But that gets flooded out by the platforms, by what they see from some larger creators, by the general mainstream message about content creation as a career and more.

And on top of that by the insidious people (including platforms) who look to make a quick buck of those who want to emulate their new heroes or kids who see creation as a career, but don't realise it needs:

1) Skills on mic/camera
2) Skills OFF mic/camera
3) Work
4) Luck
5) Time

I'm not a big creator. But I DO now have a healthy sideline in helping streamers and others find their own way to make it work for them (for fun or work).

SO MUCH of that, particularly with the teens etc. pointed in my direction (thru their parents) is expectations management.

It's why, as a few people on here will know from personal experience, if someone I know says to me:

"My kid wants to be a streamer"

My first reply is ALWAYS:

"bring them round. They can use my setup. I'll coach them through doing a video for fun!"

Because - whether they then enjoy that or not - it ALWAYS leaves the kid (whether they're 8 or 18) with a sudden, new realisation of the challenges involved.

And that's ultimately all you can do.

Anyway, to summarise, my points here:

1) Creating is hard
2) Kids want to do it. That's natural. Kids are awesome
3) We're not HELPING kids understand it IS hard
4) Voices trying to are often drowned out by the mainstream/grifters
5) We need to amplify the good voices somehow

How?

Big streamers doing honest vids? Schools getting content creators to TALK TO THEIR KIDS? Universities paying content creators to deliver AT LEAST one lecture or talk a year?

Dunno.

But we need to do it. So kids grow up creating, but knowing it might be for fun, not profit