Celebrities

Celebrities should not be idolized. Today I am going to discuss why teenagers and children spend too much time following the lives of celebrities, and why it creates such a negative impact on young lives in this generation. Nowadays, celebrities include a wide range of genres. Pop stars like Lady Gaga, actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, comedians like Robin Williams and sport athletes like Ian Thorpe. The list of different celebrities goes on, which caters for everyone’s interests. And this is the problem.

Everyone in this room has a celebrity that they like, that they have a crush on, that they look up to and that they gossip about with their friends. You might want to cook like Matt Preston, sing like Britney Spears, or be as mean as Simon Cowell. But we need to stop and think about how these celebrities are ruining our lives. Teenagers in this generation spend too much time trying to keep up with the speedy, glamorous lives of the celebrities. We see them on the news, twitter, tumblr, facebook, in magazines, and various gossip websites.

We spend so much time reading up on the latest scandals, and new relationships, we don’t focus enough on our own personal issues like school, homework, family and friends. Why are we looking up to these celebrities, and researching their lives, when we should be looking up to our parents and researching our homework? People would disagree with me, and say that teenagers and children need a good role model, someone they can look up to. But why can’t we choose someone we know personally to be our role model? Someone we can go to for advice, someone who can listen to us, and be there for us.

You have most likely heard about this event that happened recently, but all of those fans that idolized Justin Bieber, who looked up to him as a role model, were let down recently when a picture was leaked of him doing drugs. Whether this picture is real or not, it affected a lot of teenagers and children, starting a ‘Cut for Bieber’ trend, where fans were so depressed that Bieber would chose to do drugs, they cut themselves in remorse. This is why teenagers should not idolize celebrities, as we neglect our studies, our families, friends, and personal well beings, ecause we are too invested in someone else’s famous life. Children under the age of 13 are also idolizing celebrities, and because they are at such a young stage of their lives, it is crucial for them to have a good role model to look up to. Children are only just grasping the concepts of ‘right and wrong’, but when they see their favourite celebrity swearing, or drinking, they would assume it’s okay. If Chris Brown abuses females, then it must be cool. If Blake Lively got a nose job, everyone must be doing it. Paris Hilton does drugs?

I want to be like her. Children are not old enough to know that celebrities are not perfect, and that celebrities make the wrong decisions as well. Children are not old enough to have a mind of their own and say ‘drugs are bad, Paris Hilton made the wrong decision. ’ This is why children would be much better off with a role model that is close to them personally, so they can talk to them, get advice and discuss things with them. Not stalk through the internet, reading trashy articles or looking at trashy pictures in magazines.

When children idolize celebrities like David Beckham or Katy Perry, they seem to believe that being happy and successful in life involves only two things. Becoming rich and famous. And even though leading that life would have benefits, children who are fans of famous people think that, that is the best possible life you could lead. Children watch them spend money, go to parties, go on holidays, and do whatever they want, but they don’t see the negatives of having those lives. Children idolizing celebrities can cloud their judgement on what is right and wrong, and change their perspective of what life should be.

Another reason why Celebrities shouldn’t be idolized, is because most of them haven’t even asked to be role models. Most famous people are just making a career for themselves, but the media latches onto them, giving them fame. They just want to be singers, or actors, or sports players- but instead their personal lives are exposed for the whole world to see and judge, putting an unwanted amount of pressure on the celebrities to act a certain way. Celebrities are allowed to make the same mistakes as all of us. They are human, just like us. They have feelings, just like us.

And they also just want to experience and live their life just like us. We can make the mistake of tripping over in public, and it isn’t a big deal. But when celebrities trip over, apparently they are drunk and need to go to rehab. We can experience what a cigarette is like, but not tell anyone. But when celebrities try and smoke, cameras are on them, people judging them, and it becomes head line news that they are starting smoking because their ex broke up with them. Teenagers and children need to stop looking up to and idolizing celebrities.

It wastes time when you could be studying more, or even hanging out with your friends- instead of stalking celebrities and their personal lives, becoming more and more attached. It gives youth the wrong idea on what life is actually like, and the morals and standards they should have. Teenagers and children would benefit more from having a personal role model, rather than giving attention to famous people who don’t need the pressure. And can we just remember that the definition of ‘Celebrity’ is to be famous and well known. Not to be a role model or idolized.