LISTEN: Cutest moment as kids tell us what they want to be when they grow up
Australia will use landmark social media laws to ban children under 16 from video-streaming site YouTube.
Breakfast with Martin Bester asked kids what they'd like to become when they grow up, and it was the cutest, most inspiring moment, ever.
Gen Alpha (born approximately between 2010 and 2024) is increasingly drawn to careers within the creator economy, with many aiming to become YouTubers, TikTok influencers, or online streamers.
Alongside these modern aspirations, they also express interest in traditional professions such as doctors and nurses, as well as entrepreneurial paths. Their career choices are largely shaped by growing up in a highly digital environment.
So, we asked kiddies what they want to become:
Here's what a study had to say about Gen Alpha: The Real Picture.
WATCH: School teacher smashes vapes with bricks
This comes after Australia will use landmark social media laws to ban children under 16 from the video-streaming site YouTube.
Australia to ban under-16s from YouTube
Australia will use landmark social media laws to ban children under 16 from video-streaming site YouTube, a top minister said Wednesday stressing the need to shield them from "predatory algorithms".
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Communications Minister Anika Wells said four-in-ten Australian children had reported viewing harmful content on YouTube, one of the most visited websites in the world.
"We want kids to know who they are before platforms assume who they are," Wells said in a statement.
"There's a place for social media, but there's not a place for predatory algorithms targeting children."
Australia announced last year it was drafting laws that will ban children from social media sites such as Facebook, TikTok and Instagram until they turn 16.
The government had previously indicated YouTube would be exempt, given its widespread use in classrooms.
"Young people under the age of 16 will not be able to have accounts on YouTube," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters on Wednesday. They will also not be able to have accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and X, among other platforms. We want Australian parents and families to know that we have got their back."
Albanese said the age limit may not be implemented perfectly, much like existing restrictions on alcohol, but it was still the right thing to do.
A spokesman for YouTube said Wednesday's announcement was a jarring U-turn from the government.
"Our position remains clear: YouTube is a video sharing platform with a library of free, high-quality content, increasingly viewed on TV screens," the company said in a statement.
"It's not social media."
On paper, the ban is one of the strictest in the world.
But the current legislation offers almost no details on how the rules will be enforced -- prompting concern among experts that it will simply be a symbolic piece of unenforceable legislation.
It is due to come into effect on December 10.
Social media giants -- which face fines of up to Aus$49.5 million (US$32 million) for failing to comply -- have described the laws as "vague", "problematic" and "rushed".
TikTok has accused the government of ignoring mental health, online safety and youth experts who had opposed the ban.
Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, has warned that the ban could place "an onerous burden on parents and teens".
The legislation has been closely monitored by other countries, with many weighing whether to implement similar bans.
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