Do Teens Need To Break The Media’s Mold To Find A Role Model?
Posted by meredith on 03-30-2010
Today’s Youth Advisory Board post is from American teen in Switzerland Caroline Marques who contributes her thoughts to our YAB series on role models with her take on some of the more prevalent examples of aspirational figures in the media today. Remember you can communicate directly with any member of the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board by emailing them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com…or just leave a comment below.
Do Teens To Need To Break The Media Mold To Find A Role Model?
Popular role models change with each generation. But whether it be a rock star, a president, an author or a scientist, I think every teen should have someone who inspires them, someone they want to be, a leader and, most importantly, a good example to follow.
Today I feel my generation is drifting further and further away from that traditional idea of role models. When I asked girls I knew who they looked up to, most drew a blank stare. It feels as though a lot of young people hadn’t given it much thought, unless they were preparing for a college interview.
Personally my role model wouldn’t be a perfect person, but an intelligent, interesting, charming, funny, nice and unique figure. This feels in contrast to the types of shows we see on TV that seem to encourage young people to think, “Oh, she’s so rich and pretty and famous, I wish I were her…” It’s a natural response, and there have always been teenagers (and adults) who look up to people who seem to have the “perfect” life as happy, rich, glamorous and beautiful people, but today, the media stresses that romanticized lifestyle so much, that we teenagers sometimes forget the true value of people.
When asked who their role model is, I worry that a lot of teens might name the first person who pops into their mind, and that person is likely to be someone they see on a screen. Why not just say that famous actress who donates to a few charities, or that new popular “hot reality star”? It’s easy, and they’re famous, but we don’t actually know them (or their causes) a lot of the time. In my opinion, a role model is an inspiration so we should know a little more than just their looks or how much money they have. Who knows? If what the media showed us was less superficial, we might also see fewer girls comparing themselves to each other and getting overcome by jealousy over whether someone was skinnier or better-dressed.
I don’t want to criticize my generation because it’s a natural feeling to aspire to those glamorous things that come with fame and fortune (I mean, I wouldn’t mind being famous either), but I don’t think it’s good to put a too strong an emphasis on those values.
I remember reading an article a long long time ago about Queen Rania, the Queen of Jordan [pictured above] and being intrigued as well as impressed. The first thing I noticed was that she was stunningly beautiful, but as I read on, I discovered that there was so much more going for her. Since then, I’ve read more and more about her, and she seems like such a graceful and poised person who really cares about education and world issues, and is committed to advancing her causes and what’s important to her. Since then, she’s one of the first people I think of when I think of inspirational women. She’s original, and she makes me believe that we can all be great.
I know as teenagers we don’t really know who we want to be and, for now, all we can do is aspire to become the best version of who we are. But finding a good role model, on or off screen, is a good first step.
About Caroline
Caroline is an American student in eleventh grade in Geneva, Switzerland and enjoys it a lot. This year will be her second year serving on the Youth Advisory Board, which she loves because she’s currently an international student and she likes keeping up with the numerous U.S. trends in various departments. Between YAB, sports, school (as well as traveling, trying to master several languages, spending a lot of time on the computer, writing long papers, music and watching American TV), she doesn’t have a lot of time on her hands, but always finds time for the two passions she’s always had: reading and writing.
Categorized under: Youth Advisory Board