Do 'influencers' need a college degree?

My two-year-old granddaughter aspires to be an astronaut like Luna Muna. She can be anything she wants to, says her mother, who keeps whispering "astrophysicist" in her ear. Except an influencer. Better a pole dancer.

Arizona State will offer a bachelor's degree in content creation as part of its journalism school. Would-be influencers will learn to create "video, podcasts and social media content" and analyze what's effective.

ASU isn't the first, writes Kaitlyn Huamani for AP. "Ask a teen what they want to be when they grow up, and there’s a fair chance being an influencer is on their list." As colleges compete for a shrinking number of 18-year-olds, they're designing new programs that claim to prepare students for digital careers. St. Bonaventure University announced a content creation major last winter, she writes, and Syracuse University, Quinnipiac University and Colorado State University offer minors.

Critics question "the value of a college degree in launching a social media career," she writes. And they note that earning a living as a content creator is a lot harder than kids think.

UCLA is launching a major in digital humanities, reports Mikhail Zinshteyn on CalMatters. "The major fuses technological tools for statistical analysis, coding, 3D mapping and data visualization with traditional humanities subjects like history, literature and global cultures."

I think the idea is that graduates have a basic liberal arts education, but also have some technical skills. (I see Stanford has a digital humanities minor.)

Yes, it sounds like a fad. But I recently talked to two 12th-graders who are planning to major in business in college but worried about AI. I said, "If you're an educated person, you'll be able to adapt."