What influence do pop stars have on our children?
This generation is one where we are surrounded by a celebrity culture, where analysing every last inch of pop stars' lives is the norm. They are all over our television screens, in magazines, blogs and films. We see their partying, drug taking, yo-yoing weight battles, short lived relationships, cheating, prostitutes, and in many cases now, breakdowns and prison sentences. And in a generation where celebrity gossip reigns, it begs the question how will it affect the younger and more influential generations?
If the youth of today consider pop stars as role models, then they will be influenced to be unhealthily thin and go on outrageous diets, often leading to anorexia. They will teach them take drugs and drink alcohol while constantly partying.
Those aren't the only concerns either. Many children will have been brought up to know wrong and right, and will most likely be able to distinguish that what these celebrities are doing is wrong. But when it comes to what they put on our TV screens in music videos, and what they sing about is something we don't always pause to consider a threat, as we are too wrapped up in their private lives to worry about their professional lives.
With role models like Rihanna singing 'c'mon rude boy can you get it up?' it is obvious that music has taken a far more risqu turn in recent years. Our children may not fully understand the words they are repeating, or the dance moves they are copying, or the outfits they think look good, but that doesn't stop them from being influenced by it all.
And it can sometimes be all too easy to blame a celebrity role model for our own children's poor decisions in life. It is often used as a scapegoat to skirt around the reality, which is that all problems start at home. We bring our kids up, not the celebrities, and we shouldn't be so quick to blame a complete stranger who has happened to make a mistake in their own life, for the mistakes made in our children's lives.
If the youth of today consider pop stars as role models, then they will be influenced to be unhealthily thin and go on outrageous diets, often leading to anorexia. They will teach them take drugs and drink alcohol while constantly partying.
Those aren't the only concerns either. Many children will have been brought up to know wrong and right, and will most likely be able to distinguish that what these celebrities are doing is wrong. But when it comes to what they put on our TV screens in music videos, and what they sing about is something we don't always pause to consider a threat, as we are too wrapped up in their private lives to worry about their professional lives.
With role models like Rihanna singing 'c'mon rude boy can you get it up?' it is obvious that music has taken a far more risqu turn in recent years. Our children may not fully understand the words they are repeating, or the dance moves they are copying, or the outfits they think look good, but that doesn't stop them from being influenced by it all.
And it can sometimes be all too easy to blame a celebrity role model for our own children's poor decisions in life. It is often used as a scapegoat to skirt around the reality, which is that all problems start at home. We bring our kids up, not the celebrities, and we shouldn't be so quick to blame a complete stranger who has happened to make a mistake in their own life, for the mistakes made in our children's lives.
