Celebrity Influence on Today's Society

At this point in time we have a very large celebrity culture, and it sometimes seems as though anyone can become a ‘celebrity’ for doing nothing at all. Just take a look at the magazine covers next time you’re walking down the street. Chances are, a reality star or a scandal will embellish the front cover. Where are all the people who are in the media for actually achieving something? Why aren’t athletes, doctors or entrepreneurs on magazine covers? Why aren’t people on the front cover for promoting charities and not just for inappropriate pictures or the newest fashion line?

Probably because we live in a generation where we follow celebrities like zombies and not really knowing why. Why is that people in society try to ensure that children don’t end up like these people on reality TV, such as the Kardashians, or the women on “The Real Housewives? Where they treat each other horribly for the most part, but they are the people that are given the most attention by the media. Which is leading to a message being sent to kids that being on tv is the end game, that it is the mark of achievement. Meanwhile, athletes are always being blasted by the media for not acting like the role models they are to “supposed” to be when they party, get drunk and post pictures on the internet. That is because being a role model comes with the job. Sports is a big part of most kids lives so athletes are expected to act as such, but the same does not seem to apply to reality television stars.

For instance, the women on The Real Housewives of Atlanta are applauded for fighting, and have become a huge success for it. Take original Atlanta housewife DeShawn Snow who ran a foundation, highlighted her charities on the show, and tried not to involve herself in the drama of the other ladies. But, she was cut from the show, for displaying a lack of drama, and being ‘too human’. These big names in the media are giving kids the wrong idea of what their values should be , which is making kids not able to realize who they really are because they are being brainwashed by the media, who are shining light on people who just reinforce the stereotype of greed, egocentrism and materialism.When we were growing up, our teachers taught us to praise great individuals who changed history. My parents would tell me about their idols and of course i’ve had idols of my own.

They were wonderful people to look up to, true role models like Martin Luther King,Bill Gates, John Kennedy, steve Jobs, the list goes on. We looked up to them, because of their accomplishments, such as speaking up when no one else would, become something from nothing stories,, and fighting for causes they believed in. Many of these people changed our world.These days you don’t see a lot kids idolize people for what they achieve or what good they do for society. These days you see kids idolize rappers, reality tv stars who have done nothing good for society but are just in the trend. Not that all rappers and reality tv stars are like this there are many people who have done lots for society. For example drake has donated 1 million dollars for his God’s Plan music video, paying for tuitions, giving money to people in need, buying people cars etc. As a society Stop boosting the egos of famous people in this generation. You want real idols. Go to shake hands with next doctor, fireman, or police officer you see or other celebrities who dedicate most of their free time to actually making a difference in society.