I think you are too focused on one side of the bubble. The most popular desired career in the US is Youtuber/influencer and before that it was actor. This is just how American culture always was.
(I get the irony of pushing a gossip blog to prove the point)
As others have mentioned, before the rise of Youtube, the learning based channels on TV weren't doing so well in terms of popularity.
On a positive note though, our late stage capitalism era(plus half the millenial generation failing) has beaten any idea of "follow your dreams" out of young peoples souls. As a result, Gen-Z (and I suspect Gan Alpha) seem to be very pragmatic when they come of age and realize that the only real viable career is to hide in a closet/cube and be a coder or (surprisingly) enter the trades. Great for the US economy, terrible for the generation's self-esteem. (Gen-Z has one of the highest suicide rate of any generation in American history).
[1]:https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3617062/children-turn-backs-on...
(I get the irony of pushing a gossip blog to prove the point)
As others have mentioned, before the rise of Youtube, the learning based channels on TV weren't doing so well in terms of popularity.
On a positive note though, our late stage capitalism era(plus half the millenial generation failing) has beaten any idea of "follow your dreams" out of young peoples souls. As a result, Gen-Z (and I suspect Gan Alpha) seem to be very pragmatic when they come of age and realize that the only real viable career is to hide in a closet/cube and be a coder or (surprisingly) enter the trades. Great for the US economy, terrible for the generation's self-esteem. (Gen-Z has one of the highest suicide rate of any generation in American history).
[2]:https://www.businessinsider.com/cdc-teenage-gen-z-american-s...