Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Losing all Direction; The Decline of Role Models

When I hear the name Audrey Hepburn, one of the many descriptions that comes to mind is two words: role model. Now, this idea may not be the same for everyone, but most can agree that Audrey Hepburn is a famous, well-known actress and is looked up to by young girls who dream of being famous, rich or falling madly in love with a man just as handsome as her “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” co-star George Peppard. Actors, musicians and famous celebrities are commonly known as “role models,” or people to admire and look up to. Most children and teenagers would say they look up to an actor or musician because they inspire their personal dreams of eventually becoming an actor or musician. The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and many more classic depictions of older entertainment are viewed still as “role model” material today. However, the standard for what is socially popular and acceptable has completely changed. Fifty years ago, “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” would have never aired on national television. Why? Well, first off, it depicts an image that teenage pregnancy is okay, which was never addressed on national television until just recently. Secondly, since entertainment affects children and teenagers views on what is acceptable in society, it also would affect who they chose as their role models. An 11-year-old girl saying she wants to be like the main character on the show who had her first child at fifteen would give my great-grandmother a heart attack. From what television and our society is currently showing the next generation, it will be acceptable to have a child at fifteen, get drunk and have random sex with anyone in Jersey Shore and be praised by going on television to openly showcase their chaotic yet totally screen-written lives. Do we really want our generation looking up to this type of entertainment? The teen pregnancy rate has increased 3 percent between 2005 and 2006, according to The Washington Post. Along with that, 28 percent of 15- to 20-year-old drivers who were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2005 had been drinking, according to www.SADD.org. One statistic I find puzzling and quite terrifying is that 4.129 million viewers tuned in to watch “Teen Mom” on Oct. 5, 2010, according to The Futon Critic. Those people, for half an hour, watched teenage girls ruthlessly struggle taking care of their children and the consequences of having a child at a young age. And still yet, teen pregnancy is seen as okay. “Jersey Shore’s” premiere drew in 5.3 million viewers. There goes 5.3 million brain cells destroyed from the lack of impact the cast’s obscene partying and social skills has on the viewer’s life. Not to mention the lovely language the viewer may pick up as well. By the time our younger generation, consisting of children as young as five to 12, are teenagers, it will be socially acceptable to drink, use illegal substances and become pregnant before even finishing high school. Why? These children have no significant role models. They are fueled primarily by media and the entertainment they seen on TV. Since the people they look up to are partying, having sex and having babies, they will see that as standard and not something that my great-grandmother would view as “vulgar and absurd.” How are these actors and entertainers we see on TV good people for our future generation to look up to? The answer: they’re not. Role models are supposed to be a positive influence, not a negative one. A character of a fifteen-year-old girl on a television who just had her first baby and is unable to live a normal life due to her child cannot be a positive influence. The same idea goes for any teenager who would drink or use illegal substances. How are these things affecting their lives positively? If anything, they are decreasing their opportunities for the future. The way I see if, our next generation will all be knocked up by the time they are twenty, live their lives drinking and using drugs and will most likely be living off of the entertainment and useless information they see on TV. Is this the type of society we want for our future? I’ll let you answer that.

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