# [[Fame Alone Is Not A Career]] #Social_Media #Economy #Society #Career #GenZ #Advice There is a whole generation whose dream career is "being famous" .. and those can be your siblings, cousins, or even children. Ask anyone under 20, and there is a VERY high chance they want to be one of those: influencer, YouTuber, TikToker, "content creator". Bear in mind that most of them just want to be that, famous. Not to achieve a purpose or deliver a message, but to be famous for the sake of being famous. Historically, fame was restricted to very few people, mainly popular artists, TV anchors, and politicians. Now, "fame-as-a-career" is more common than classical fame. And arguably, in many contexts, a "famous-person" is deemed more popular, more influential, and more valuable than an old fashion famous person. Even those are now relying on influencers-and-co to stay relevant among younger generations. Now, why do I think that this is a problem: Every seasoned public figure knows that fame and popularity doesn't last forever. Especially when it is not backed by an added value to the audience. Being famous for the sake of being famous (now achievable due to how social media works) .. is very short lived. Because with fame also comes trends. Newly famous people are often of more value than long-time famous people. From an economic standpoint, all the kids who want to (and are) building a career out of fame (instead of building fame out of a career), will eventually hit a wall. 1) Whatever there is a lot of, starts losing value. If everyone is famous, no one is famous. 2) Once fame is no more, the lack of valuable skills/knowledge means it will be very hard, and nearly impossible to build a more sustainable career. It will be even tougher moving forward as AI is proving that most human knowledge and technical skills are easily replaceable. 3) Some youngsters are even skipping formal education (which isn't great education, but the lack of it isn't great either) to pursue fame. This leaves them very vulnerable in the future. 4) The only thing they are left with is: teaching others how to be famous. Which is something we are already seeing more of. Every other influencer and YouTuber is giving courses how to become one. Which is weird. You don't see every doctor or every mechanic or every filmmaker teaching others how to be like them. --- If your children's aspiration is to be famous, at least have them answer you this question first: "what do you want to be famous for?" Nothing to conclude here. Just some random thoughts. More thoughts: someone might argue that being famous for a few years and saving enough money for the rest of your life is a great idea, where is the problem with that? No problem with that per say, but there is a problem with generalizing and normalizing this thinking: 1) No matter how much money a person has. Money today does not guarantee sustainability in the future. Cases range from lottery winners who went bankrupt. To billionaires who lost their investments. 2) if a majority achieves a life that follows this formula .. who will do what it takes to sustain a society and a civilization? Who will put the effort to be a doctor, a plumber, a hairdresser, a teacher, a dentist, a mechanic ....? AI and robots maybe? But how will value be generated and exchanged between humans? Plus, it'll be a while before many professions, can be replaced by technology. Challenging thoughts. PS: I am not shaming or blaming any one with those aspirations. It is not their fault. WE built this, and we got them here after all. It is unfortunate that every generation has to live the consequences of the actions taken by those who brought them to life. I wish humanity was less selfish. Originally Shared on: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/theali/posts/pfbid035vHAtFyffqwbgdqurbkUyKtNuQsxjnjrLAdm1mhJJXUDjjL6e9eZmfAfMonkuBTul) December 18, 2022 > [!seealso] Related Thoughts > >- [[Kids and Quantified Self-Worth]] >- [[💸 The Obsession with Easy Money]] >- [[Too Soon For An Effortless Civilization]] >- [[Work Hard, Swipe Left]]