Netflix & NYT Research finds majority of working class parents don’t want their child to pursue a creative career
Tom Arber
New research from Netflix and the National Youth Theatre, shows almost three in four young people (16-25) in the creative industries say their parents, guardians or carers view their career as a waste of their education. Parents, guardians and carers favour careers in law, finance and engineering for their children due to perceptions of good career progression, decent pay and a stable career path
The data also shows that the majority (89%) of working class parents, guardians and carers say they wouldn’t want their child to pursue a creative career path. Parents favour ‘traditional’ careers in law, finance, medicine and technology for their children because they perceive them to offer good career progression (60%), good pay (58%) and a stable career path (56%).
The research is being released as Netflix and National Youth Theatre launch year 2 of IGNITE Your Creativity, a free initiative designed to tackle negative perceptions around creative careers and make TV, Film and Theatre more representative of the UK.
Research shows that these ‘traditional’ professions are better at attracting more diverse talent, with only 8% of people working in film, TV and radio identifying as working class.
The problem is further highlighted by young people (16-25) already working in the creative industry. One in four (26%) of them said their parents, guardians or carers are unsupportive of their creative endeavours. Close to three quarters (73%) say their parents view their career as a waste of their education.
“What is it you do again?”
Over three quarters (78%) of young people felt explaining their creative profession to their parents was challenging. Four in five parents (81%) feel that the term “creative” means different things to different people. Over a third (41% ) of parents said the language around creative careers, such as film and TV, felt vague.
Opinium Research polled 2,000 parents, guardians and carers in the United Kingdom using an online methodology. Results were weighted by age, gender, and region to nationally representative criteria. Fieldwork was conducted between 24th and 29th May 2024.
National Youth Theatre asked 500 young people from their creative community around the UK aged 18 - 30 about their views on how creative careers are perceived.
