Role Models

The idea of good and bad role model is perceived differently according to individual’s opinions. For example, many people aspire to be the next Justin Bieber or Miley Cyrus whilst others disapprove of their behaviour and struggle to find any reason to why anyone would aspire to be them. Whether directly or indirectly, every human being has someone they idolise. Role models have an astonishing effect on the lives of young people in our society. In today’s society, we are continuously bombarded with unrealistic stories, which are purely created to increase sales and profits. In particular, female celebrities are portrayed as ‘perfect’ with their perfect bodies and perfect skin, two of the main aspects of a teenager’s appearance which they are most self conscious about. This means many teenagers feel they are not ‘perfect’ enough and attempt to achieve a perfect body by going on ridiculous, dangerous diets purely to boost their confidence. Despite the fact that the vast majority is photo shopped and airbrushed to the point where the individual does not look like the same person. Is it right that in America last year there were over 130,500 plastic surgery procedures done for teenagers under the age of 18 just to attain ‘the perfect look’?

It’s understandable why society lust for what they feel is a perfect role model. The majority of celebrities jobs is to entertain society which they most certainly do however it is not to please society. Most celebrities are only being themselves despite of society’s preference, should this not be considered as an example of a good role model rather than what they perceive as bad, as they are showing bravery by being unique regardless of any critic they receive. The media often send out a message to children that they should aspire to others in order to mature graciously. However, shouldn’t youths aspire to be an individual rather than attempting to be a mirror image of another person? Why allow someone else’s life be the determining factor of yours? Immense pressure is put on celebrities to be what society sees as a good role model. Personally, I feel that celebrities should have the freedom to do what they want and be what they want without getting any negative feedback.

Today many people believe there are not enough role models or that too many celebrities have changed their morals from when they were younger, for example former Disney star Miley Cyrus who ditched the innocent cute teenage life for sex appeal performances wearing few items of clothing. However, why should Miley not be herself due to society’s opinions? Is it a good thing that she doesn’t care and feels confident enough to twerk at the MTV’s VMAS awards in front of a huge audience? Personally, I feel many people do not realise that Miley was only acting when she played the leading role in popular Disney show ‘Hannah Montana’ she was then perceived as the girl on this television program which evidently she wasn’t and now that she is finally being herself the majority of humanity are fast to critique at her every move.

Many people over shadow the positive role models to the negative, not a vast amount of members of society recognise the positives contributed to society by many celebrities but instead concentrate on critising what they perceive as negatives. For instance, nobody gave David Beckham any recognition when he became a UNICEF ambassador or donating a colossal £3.4 million to a children’s charity however when he had an alleged affair it was a headline on most newspapers and magazines. This reinforces the idea that the media dedicate their time to criticise anyone who