Swathi Khrishnamoorthy, Class 4/7
The doorbell rings signalling that the two hundred dollar shoes you ordered for the sole reason of your favourite singer sporting it that one time, has finally arrived. Your eyes still glued to the viral youtube video made by the influencer your friends have been raving about, you snatch the package from the courier. “Have you studied for the upcoming tests?” your mother yells from across the living room. “One more video!” you blatantly lie as you continue to stare fixedly at your phone. This is a common scenario among youths all over the world. Young people today indulge in the lives of others, often forgetting about their own. A shared mindset among them being a world without their adored celebrities impossible.
Although, in some instances, exalting their idols might have fruitful results. Youths, if they choose which celebrities to be their role models discerningly, can even improve on certain aspects of themselves. Avid environmentalist Gretha Thurnberg has touched the hearts of several teenagers and inspired them to be more environmentally conscious. She has aided them to overcome the hindrance that is their age barrier by allowing them to gain more courage to fight for the things that they believe in. Young people looking up to Gretha Thunberg will have their lives efficaciously changed for the better with her positive influence on them.
However, celebrities like Gretha Thunberg are far and few between. Multifarious stars corrupt and spoilt with fame have garnered atrocious attitudes. Their exact behaviours are then reflected by their impressionable young fans. Kylie Jenner, famed reality television star caused mass jealousy among her supporters after attaining lip injections. A multitude of girls took drastic measures to recreate her pouty, luscious lips by using shot glasses. Their acts of idiocy ended up in a copious amount of girls having to visit the emergency room with glass shards jabbed in their lips. Minors are very suggestible at their tender age and with inapt role models to look up to, will not make it far in life.
The disconcerting obsession teens have with fame is also cause for concern. Many youths will readily do anything possible to meet their adored idols. This is the case for many when they go to the extent of skipping school to attend a concert or stealing their parent’s credit card to procure their favoured youtuber’s merchandise. These alarming habits that they have adopted are only going to lead to their ruin in the future. Some celebrities worsen these practices by egging on teenagers to continue. Their appalling advice is supported by false claims of how they will love their fans more if they do so.
Most young people today have a perturbing addiction of fame and imitating celebrities which most times lead to abysmal consequences. It is up to them to go on the daunting mission of trying to steer clear of the monsters known as celebrities. The monster of which many have already succumbed to.
Writers by the River 