Here's a look inside Utah's new class preparing teens for influencer careers.

Utah

The Utah State Board of Education approved influencer marketing classes, which are now being offered in nine schools across the state. These classes teach students practical skills such as building an online brand, analyzing social media analytics, and selecting appropriate content for their audiences.

In addition to technical skills, the curriculum addresses responsible social media use, online safety, and the mental health challenges associated with influencer culture. Educators emphasize that influencer work is a legitimate career path and encourage students to be mindful of their digital footprint.

Inside Utah's new class preparing teens for influencer careers

Influencer marketing classes got the green light from the Utah State Board of Education last year. I'm Maya Constantino, and now those classes are popping up in schools across Utah. I got the chance to step into one of the classes to hear from the students about how they're liking it so far. Influencers aren't going anywhere. So what's one thing you could do to make sure that social media is being used in a positive way? And now Utah students are learning what it really takes to become one. So I'm actually going to be internet famous. Follow dart underscore Goggins underscore two. Inside North Summit High School, students are learning skills like how to build an online brand, understand analytics, and deciding what kinds of videos to post based on who's watching. The course is a part of Utah's career and technical education program, meant to give students skills they can actually use in the real world. I have them create their influencer dream board. If you were to be an influencer, who would you want to be? How many followers would you have? What would your content look like? The State Board of Education says the class is in nine schools this school year. Rachel Routt with the Utah State Board of Education says that when she taught marketing for the Alpine School District, her students were always curious about influencers. We wanted the class to kind of open their eyes to what the job really is. That's why she and Richens worked together to bring the course to schools. This is a legitimate career, and we have to start to accept it. It's not going away. But beyond the technical skills, these students are having much bigger conversations. That's kind of where people get like the image, and they're like, oh, I want to be like this girl I saw on TikTok. I want to be like this model I saw on Instagram. And I think that's the hardest part of like wanting to be those people. You get like jealous of those people. We need to learn how to use it responsibly. About what it means to stay safe online, and how to navigate the mental health challenges that can come with this kind of work. We also encourage them to always think about their own digital footprint. In Salt Lake City, Maya Constantino, FOX 13 News, Utah.

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