Celebrities As Good Role Models For Teengaers
Have you ever looked up to somebody and wanted to be just like them when you were young? I think we all have admired someone who just weren’t the best of role models, but back then we just didn’t know why. So, when we think about celebrities being role models, we immediately think about singers and actors. Well, not all celebrities who give out to the community and are exceptionally good role models to your kids can sing or act. Celebrities most often give back to our community by donating money to arts, mental illness campaigns, educational foundations, etc. , which means that it teaches the youth to be generous towards others. Therefore, celebrities are indeed role models because they set up an example of a good lifestyle, they promote a positive self-image, celebrities can also have a positive effect on a teengaers’ life by promoting education and cultural awareness.
First, young viewers pick up on everything they see and notice some celebrities are setting up an example of a good lifestyle. They may pick on important encouragement on preventing depression, motivating healthy eating and lifestyle habits. As seen online, many celebrities support mental health charities, as well as speaking to the media to raise awareness of mental health. During Lady Gaga’s recent visit to a shelter for homeless for LGBT Youth in Harlem, the singer spoke about her struggles for the first time. Gaga, who revealed in 2014 that she was raped at age 19, told a group of kids that she might not have the same issues as they do, but she still has a mental illness and struggles everyday. Selena Gomez, who has also suffered from depression and anxiety as side effects from an inflammatory disease caused when the immune system attacks its own tissues, which is called Lupus, gave an inspiring speech at the 2016 American Music Awards telling fans that they do not have to stay broken. Another inspiring celebrity, such as Demi Lovato has spoken great lengths about her struggles with eating disorders, bipolar disease, and drug addictions. Many of these celebrities, who are just as human as we are, have faced mental health problems on their own. For this reason, they’ve become aware of how isolating it can be for someone who suffers from this devastating illness. There are all kinds of mental-health related charities that celebrities donate most of their time and money, such as The Trevor Project, To Write Love on Her Arms, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13-18 experienced a severe mental disorder at some point of their life. For children aged 8-15, the estimate is 13%.
Celebrities play a big role on helping the youth shape their individualistic beauty and/or character. As a matter of fact, when it comes to finding motivation on going along with that diet you’ve been wanting to do, celebrities can be such a great source on finding that kind of encouragement and inspiration. “If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; Everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it” beautifully said by the great Michael Jordan, basketball legend and six-time NBA champ. Not only do they promote a healthy lifestyle, but they also aim to help the public understand that they have the right to know what’s in their food when California held a proposition for mandatory labelling of Genetically Engineered Food that was unfortunately defeated. Although, most celebrities recommend a healthy lifestyle, they prefer to live however they feel the most comfortable. Even celebrities realize that true talent shines through regardless of their appearance. For example, Jennifer Lawrence is fabulously self aware and can laugh off incidents that most people would be ashamed of. She has even refused to lose weight for roles and also fought for her Hunger Games Character to have more of a grounded figure in an effort to set up a good example to young viewers. So generally speaking, some celebrities can be looked up as role models due to promoting the encouragement of preventing mental illness and motivating healthy living.
Celebrities promote positive self-image, because they also feel the pressure to be perfect to the public eye due to that their looks and action are often criticized. Delightedly, there are some strong and compelling individuals who speak up about promoting self-acceptance. “You are bold. You are brilliant. And you are beautiful. There is no other woman like you, because you are your own kind of woman”. These are the kind of affirmations Ashley Graham gives herself every morning to remind herself of who she is, to remind herself of what she’s overcome, and lastly to remind herself of her worth. This woman has been in the modeling agency since the age of 13. Back in her hometown, Nebraska, she was already labeled the “fat model” and the girl who was “too pretty for a big girl”. Her body, just like her confidence, has been picked apart, exploited and controlled by others. Ashley, as well as many other people, have struggled to achieve true confidence. Plenty of celebrities, such as Demi Lovato, Laverne Cox, Fearne Cotton, Dascha Polanco, and Adele have all promoted positive self-image. Laverne Cox as a trans person in color, has become very important in the media eye for inspiring self-love to a variety of people. The way she speaks about issues that are important to her not only has helped transgender people of color, but to all identities around the world.
Other celebrity who has spoken great lengths about body positivity and self-esteem, has been Demi Lovato. Demi Lovato stated that she is feeling better than she’s ever felt after years of dealing with eating disorders and drug addictions. “It’s all about self-love. Tell yourself you’re beautiful daily. Be gentle with yourself. Eat carbs without feeling guilty and remember that life is too short to worry about what others think!!” She shared that quote on instagram to celebrate her fifth year of sobriety in March. Demi began to have body image issues at the age of 12 and developed an eating disorder, and along the years, she has also struggled with alcohol and drug addiction. Although, her path to self-love hasn’t been easy, she speaks about her rocky journey and how changing the way she looked at food and exercising raised her self-esteem. She states that if there’s something she doesn’t like about herself, she reminds herself that it doesn’t define her. She believes that the more you tell yourself that you’re beautiful, the more you start to believe it. Overall, celebrities such as these impact young viewers in such a positive way that some may tend to be more respectful towards others and themselves.
Moreover, celebrities promote education and cultural awareness because according to the website Global Partnership for Education, about 31 million girls of primary school age are not in school. On March 8th is International Women’s Day and celebrities take their time to speak up about how important girl’s education is. No one should be denied to these basic rights, while still today girls and women around the world still face discrimination, violence and early child marriages. A women named Graca Machel is an activist and a philanthropist who fights for girl’s education and children's rights, raises awareness about early marriages, female genital mutilation, and any other actions that prohibits women to reach their full potential.
Another great strong women who supports education among girls, is our very own former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama. On March 2015, Michelle launched an U. S Government initiative to help give young women the access to education. Hispanics are maybe the largest minority group in the United States. Although, the U. S Government doesn’t consider Latinos to be racial group and more as a diverse group of people who make up most of the U. S population. However, people still don’t seem to understand what a Hispanic looks like, believing that all hispanics have dark hair, dark eyes, and tan skin. Latino celebrities know that their face represents millions of damaged men, women, and children across the world. While some don’t like that kind of spotlight, some choose to use that spotlight to celebrate latino culture, prove those ignorant critics wrong, and inspire kids to be more than what they hear on the media. For children growing up in a not so friendly political climate, it’s important to see people with the same background strive and speaking greatly about their culture, because that shows them that they can be whoever they want and aim higher. Not only are hispanics raising cultural awareness, now it’s people like Jesse Williams, Boris Kodjoe, and our former President Barack Obama who come from mixed race parents, but identify as African-Americans. These people are extremely proud of their heritage and encourage kids who identify like them, to not listen what the media says. As can be seen, certain celebrities are suitable to role models to young viewers because they promote education and encourage cultural awareness.
Unfortunately, not all celebrities should be looked up to. Celebrities are too closely studied and they don’t really live realistic life’s or they only show what they want the audience to know about. Some are even known for their mistakes and bad behavior. When a young viewer scrolls through the internet or even flipping through a magazine, they may get overwhelmed by the pictures of the wrong idea that celebrities are perfect. These manipulated pictures, workouts, and diet tips are creating body image issues for young viewers. Their perfect image causes teens to take desperate measures to copy their “idol” and often end up causing real damages to their bodies. Working out too much or eating too little, can lead to an eating disorder, such as Bulimia and Anorexia.
