Today the media is everywhere society turns. With the click of a button, people can see where their friends are checking in on Facebook, what they are doing on Twitter, and even check apps regarding their favorite celebrities. Technology has given people easy access to everyone’s lives. Fans are able to feel a part of their favorite celebrity’s everyday life by tracking their whereabouts. They feel up to date on what is happening in their lives. Thus, giving them a connection and a sense of closeness to celebrities. The ability to constantly know what is happening with celebrities, what they are wearing, where they are going, and what they are interested in, affects how society lives their lives. People feel the need to emulate their favorite star, so they imitate their clothes, accessories, and even attempt to attend the same type of places. Teenagers are the most common people trying to copy their idols. Celebrities have the easiest time influencing teens because they are so vulnerable. Teenagers are in search for self-esteem, their identity, and a “cool” self-image. All of these aspects of a teenager’s life are detrimental to who they will become. The power of the celebrity has taken control of these teens and ended with negative influences.
A teen needs to satisfy his need for love, acceptance, and success in order to experience high self-esteem. He gains his self-esteem by pleasing his parents, peers, and society. This is a time in an adolescent’s life where they feel the most need for acceptance. This need for acceptance drives teens to be more experimental, innovative, and sometimes controversial. They are at a time in their life where they keep reinventing themselves. They may start out as a jock, then become a punk, then preppy, and so on and so forth. According to Teenager Research Unlimited, fun is the number one description for the teenage generation. Teenagers emphasize freedom, yet do not want to take on the responsibilities and obligations of adults. Fun links the teens to experimentation with illegal or illicit substances. Their ideas on life are more in the clouds than in reality. Teens are thinking, dreaming, and even planning a few years ahead. This, in turn, is making celebrities a few years older than them more desirable. Teens are fans of Miley Cyrus, who was caught on film smoking marijuana, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, who went to jail for drinking and drugs. Teens consider this to be okay, and do not let instances like this hinder their idols’ likeability. They have become immune to things that are wrong because they constantly see celebrities conducting themselves in this manner in the media. Reality shows have become very popular and teens have begun to realize that you can become famous just by being a bad girl, teen mom, or a crazy party animal who likes to do nothing but drink and “smush,” like the cast members on Jersey Shore. All of these shows set bad examples for young teens. They broadcast that it is okay to constantly fight, be drunk, and have random hookups. A person may even become famous and make millions of dollars in doing so. Why would teenagers see anything wrong with this if society is telling them it is okay? It is not fair to teenagers because they are being influenced by negative actions. They imitate what they see, and what they see is utter chaos. While teens are forced to deal with the pressures of peers, parents, and society, teens are also forced with the questions of “Who am I?” and “Who am I becoming?” They cannot be blamed for their bad decisions and actions when they have idols like Snooki and the Situation.
