By Katerina McCauley |Staff Writer|
We attach too much meaning to the label “role model,” especially to people who are in the public eye.
Some people feel that celebrities have the responsibility to be role models.
I however would have to disagree.
I don’t remember what celebrity I looked up to as a kid or even if I did.
Today, I feel like there is a weird expectation that celebrities have to be kosher and squeaky clean in case there is an eight year old out there who thinks that celebrity is the best person ever.
Why should celebrities have the responsibility to be a role model?
Is it just because they are in the lime light?
And if that responsibility is such a big deal shouldn’t we only glorify the ones that behave “right?”
If that’s the case, what’s the definition of “right?”
Liberal Studies student Michele Jimenez agrees celebrities do have the responsibility to be role models, because they are under the public eye.
Student Crystal Carrillo also agreed, she said, “Yes, they do have the responsibility, because of power and money, and they should use that and their image for things like charities.”
Most celebrities have no privacy, therefore they are under enormous pressure to be perfect.
Society expects perfection from a small group of people, but we have to remember; celebrities are human too.
Student Sandra Mendoza doesn’t see celebrities as role models.
“I see them as entertainment. Everyone is a different person,” said Mendoza.
Every year, there is always a new celebrity on ‘the bad one’ list.
The one that can’t have kids watching the show they starred in, or the one that kids can’t listen to their music any more; and this usually stems from a drunken tweet, a gossip magazine’s “new gory details of their private life”, or a picture that was supposed to be private.
As humans, we all have done things that we would run screaming from if the wrong people knew about it, so why do we judge celebrities so harshly?
Are you going to blame a celebrity for a kid mirroring a clothing choice said celebrity wears and not the person who bought it, or encouraged them to wear it?
I won’t name any celebrities just to prove the point that this witch-hunt for perfect roles models puts any celebrity on ‘the bad one’ list.
Aside from celebrities being role models to kids, I think people have role models to help guide them to a goal they want, or to something that this person has been successful in.
It’s all for you as a person and the things you like, and for the celebrity as their own person with their passions.
Celebrities as role models should be based on personal inspiration, and not on a responsibility owed to society.
As for having a celebrity role model as an adult, I think most students our age look up to people that inspire them, and think ‘this person has what I want in life, so I’m going to research their life, and follow their social media, and buy their products.
If they find something about the person that they don’t like or disagree with, you have two choices: get over it and move on or find another role model.
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