>Is this supposed to be alarming? When I was that age my peers might have said NBA player or Hollywood actor
The difference is that the feedback of your success or failure on those tracks is usually quite rapid. If you've hit a certain age you know whether you're going to be a professional athlete or not.
People who think they might make it on youtube are facing an audience that might as well encourage them to keep on even if they are not making a living. Add to this the idea that youtube and other platforms market themselves to people in this way. ("ditch the old gatekeepers, they're keeping you back!")
People might be able to build up false realities for themselves much more easily in virtual spaces.
Either they will make money or they won't. And if their followers are growing theoretically they are on the right track.
You think no footballer or basketballer was ever caught close to being a pro, and then spent a year or 2 too long on the dream before realising he didn't cut it.
It's exactly the same thing, just a different medium
The difference is that the feedback of your success or failure on those tracks is usually quite rapid. If you've hit a certain age you know whether you're going to be a professional athlete or not.
People who think they might make it on youtube are facing an audience that might as well encourage them to keep on even if they are not making a living. Add to this the idea that youtube and other platforms market themselves to people in this way. ("ditch the old gatekeepers, they're keeping you back!")
People might be able to build up false realities for themselves much more easily in virtual spaces.