Changing Our Definition of Influencer
The ever-expanding popularity of platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube has created a new class of entrepreneurs called “creators,” a group that includes freelancers, business coaches, and gamers who post and monetize their expertise on social media. Yet their goal is more than money. They long to be an influencer. It’s become a major aspiration for Generation Z. Some 57% of Gen Zers said they’d like to become an influencer if given the chance, according to a recent report from Morning Consult.
What Career is Generation Z Preparing For?
This “influencer” opportunity has affected their career goals. Do you know the top industry today’s youngest Gen Z job candidates are targeting? Spoiler alert: it’s not located in Silicon Valley or on Wall Street. It’s not even on Main Street, in their own hometown. The fact is, as Gen Zers assess the job landscape, those kinds of jobs seem bland.
What’s the top field they want to enter? The entertainment industry.
Media and entertainment tops the list of industries that Gen Z wants to work in, beating tech, healthcare and education, according to a report from Samsung and Morning Consult. The report, which surveyed over 1,000 Americans ages 16 to 25, found that Gen Z values flexible, creative jobs and careers where they can maintain a healthy work-life balance. What’s more, millions grew up on camera, even if it was only a selfie they posted each day.
While I don’t like this finding, it makes sense to me. Millions of Gen Zers have monetized social media, especially TikTok. And for 20 percent of those who have, it’s a full-time job. Creating content and making money, relatively quickly, has become an aspiration for many. Sadly, the fields that desperately need young workers don’t seem to have the sizzle.
For example, the number of education degrees earned in the U.S. has steadily decreased over the last 20 years (from 2003 to 2023). According to data from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, bachelor’s degrees in education dipped from 109,622 annually to 90,710. In my humble opinion, becoming a teacher is one of the most noble and necessary vocations, but young adults see how emotionally expensive those jobs are, and how little most educators get paid, and they look elsewhere for their future.
It's time to get honest.
Can We Change Our Definition?
I am no psychologist, but in my humble opinion, this idea of being an influencer is often a smokescreen to make us feel better about ourselves. Having influence feels good—like we are positively impacting other people. But is that really what we’re doing? What millions are pursuing is: clicks, views, likes and shares. It’s a numbers game. Is that form of influence really benefiting anyone in a meaningful way? It could be, but if we’re gut-level honest, not really. Look at what’s getting those clicks. We may nudge someone to behave in a different way, but as culture critic Neil Postman says, we are mostly “amusing ourselves to death.”
Can We Change Our Aspiration About Being an Influencer?
There is no doubt in my mind that Generation Z is a population filled with entrepreneurs. But those of us who lead them must challenge them to benefit society, not merely amuse society. I served under Dr. John C. Maxwell after graduating college in 1983. He had our leadership team study author J. Oswald Sanders, who first coined the phrase: “Leadership is influence” in 1967. Sanders tells us that positive influence is all about service. Later, Dr. Maxwell added to his foundation, saying influence should be about adding value to others. Simple, but profound. We are to use our influence to serve and add value to people.
My concern is that today’s young population becomes satisfied with shallow ambition, under the guise of being noble. I want better for them. Keep in mind, however, that there’s no use getting frustrated with them. They are products of our making. They are the result of the culture in which they grew up, and adults made that culture. They are also products of the adults who parented, taught and coached them—or failed to do so.
We let this happen.
Sociologists tell us that the most introverted of people will influence 10,000 others in an average lifetime. Imagine that. Those who are energized by time alone, not time with people, will impact thousands of others, often without even trying, just by the life they live. How many could members of Generation Z influence, especially those who choose to make a difference? 100,000? 500,000? A million? Let’s make sure they nudge people forward by serving them, and benefiting them. That’s what influence should be all about.
Let’s change our definition of influencer.
Find insights like these in my new book that just released:
The Future Begins with Z:
Nine Strategies to Lead Generation Z as They Disrupt the Workplace.
Now available wherever you buy books
Bonus materials are available, when you order!
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