Thai children aspire to be doctors, teachers, and YouTubers

Thai’ Generation Alpha’ children recently surveyed named doctor, teacher, and YouTuber as the top three careers they aspire to, with athlete and soldier slipping below social media star for the first time.

The survey by Adecco, a global human resource consulting firm, indicated a technological and cultural shift among Thai youngsters. The survey was published a week before Thailand celebrated Children’s Day on January 11. Generation Alpha is defined as children born in the year 2010 or later when smartphones and other technologies have taken hold in Thailand.

Adecco’s “Dream Career of Thai Children” surveyed 4,050 children aged 7 to 14 years. Doctor was the leading choice among children living in Bangkok, while teacher was the dominant choice of those living in the provinces.

“Thai children think of YouTuber as a career that brings high income, freedom, and fame. Many think they have the skills and ability, inspired by their favorite YouTubers and game casters,” Adecco wrote.

The emergence of “YouTuber” as a dream career should come as no surprise considering Thais’ affinity for social media. Thais are among the top 10 social media users in the world, according to industry research groups, and the Kingdom is the number one nation in Southeast Asia for social media commerce.

“With an incredible average of 9 hours and 11 minutes spent online per person per day, including 5 hours and 13 minutes spent using mobile internet, Thais are the most relentlessly connected people in the world,” according to Hootsuite, a marketing firm that analyzes online trends.

YouTube is the second most popular social media platform in Thailand after Facebook. Hootsuite said YouTube traffic in Thailand is 370 million views per month. “Though YouTube currently sees less traffic than Facebook in Thailand, it has overtaken the social network in terms of actual time spent. Thai netizens spend 30 minutes per visit to YouTube, while Facebook visits are just half as long,” Hootsuite wrote.

Photo courtesy of https://adecco.co.th/en/knowledge-center/detail/children-dream-career-survey-2020