Instead of being captivated by true talent, today’s society is drawn to the opposite approach where “celebrities” are portraying unrealistic lifestyles, which may appear simple, but leave the average person seeing false actions.

Celebrities such as Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan, who once had the ability to be recognized for their movie spotlight, are downgrading themselves by performing inappropriate acts in public. Spears who used to go on tours, sing live, be healthy, and avoid drugs, is now driving with her baby in the driver’s seat. Lohan who became famous through the popular family film "Parent Trap" has been in rehab more times than an individual can count on their two hands. And these are the people our children want to be like?

Celebrities in top motion pictures may be superior in their roles as actors but this does not make them role models. Celebrities are not role models. Exposing teens to an excessive amount of social media is dangerous because it is placing any television actor, worthy of or not, under the label “idol,” therefore doing no such wrong and giving full pledge freedom to their scenes (off camera).

By definition, a role model can be characterized as a person who is looked up to by others as an example to be imitated. Celebrities have this mindset that life is easy going and teens more often than not are looking at these people for the latest trends and fashion tips, movies or albums, and even worse for their bodies. This tends to occur because it is painless to act like someone else than try to actually make something out of one’s own birth title. The main concern is that this generation is becoming accustomed to falling into these fads without notice and parents are, not only in the trap themselves, but passing it onto younger teens. Role models used to be regarded as those who supported good causes, those who rewarded young people for achievements earned, hard workers, or people who gave back.

Take the Olympians, for example, and their entire time and schedule revolved around one event only to be performed in a matter of minutes. According to the article, “Celebrity Role Models Can Help Inspire a Generation,” the true attention should be going towards the individuals who do not ask for a pat on the back or a job well done. Ultimately role models are designed to show young people how to handle themselves on every stage, to smile when you are left out of the squad and to shine when your moment comes and you’re handed the flame. This is what the typical person should be aiming for. There is no fake body parts involved, just natural sweat and drive. It has reached an all time low when the world has more celebrity gossip to talk about at a family dinner than anything of actual importance. This sad obsession is growing to be of importance, unfortunately, for people are at an age where none of the magazine covers, Internet blogs, movies or images are reflected as harmful. Fans disagree in seeing the injustice in a life of parties, short-term relationships, drugs, and alcohol which will further lead to a time of destruction.

Celebrities create impossible standards of beauty, giving the general public feelings of less confidence, anger, and dissatisfaction. Even children under the age of ten are being exposed to such style ideals that it is altering attitudes and overall female self-respect. LZ Granderson, a CNN Contributor wrote an article, “Parents, don’t dress your girls like tramps” to express his apprehension with our upcoming cohort.

He tells of a time he was once at the airport and spotted a girl who had “beautiful, long blond hair [that] was braided back a la Bo Derek in the movie "10." Her lips were pink and shiny from the gloss, and her earrings dangled playfully from her lobes. You can tell she had been vacationing somewhere warm, because you could see her deep tan around her midriff thanks to the halter top and the tight sweatpants that rested just a little low on her waist” (Granderson). This may seem like a casual dress wear until the facts were established that this girl was only eight-years-old. How can parents let their children walk out of the house in an outfit such as this? Sooner or later there is going to be more make up on a girl’s face than clothing!

Sorry to say that this is only one of the many incidents for this cause. Abercrombie and Fitch released a new push-up bra called the “Ashley,” targeting girls who are not quite developed yet and do not have anything to push up. I would like to think that this is society’s fault in creating these newer materials, but why would companies keep putting them out on the market if they did not think they would sell? It is understandable how every parent wants to help their child shop, but there are more than enough ways in doing so than choosing thongs for ten-year-olds or pushing the issue of changing a teenager’s body type to “fit in.” As Granderson points out, sex apparel is becoming the latest profit. When will it end? The blame can be placed on the guardian. How else would an adolescent get a hold of such retail? Too many parents are trying to act as “friends” towards their children, not displaying their age, and this simply is unacceptable.

A parent should always be there for their child, behave as a mentor, nurture, show love, and be a friend when needed. There has to be a cutoff point when a parent must put their foot down and raise their child with appropriate manners. Not only is this beneficial for the teenager but it keeps a safe reputation and defines respect for one’s self and others. Being shown celebrity media at too young of an age can cause dangerous long-term effects. Just because a person can sing and dance and has pretty hair does not entitle him or her as a celebrity.

Celebrities may be rich and famous but kids should be limited in their seeking for, as Teri Brown writes in her editorial, “Celebrity Role Models,” it is easy to befall “desensitized to their bad behavior. Often, they are left with the false impression that their idols lead glamorous lives and some teens will desire to emulate the appalling conduct in a quest to be like them.” If parents decide to not draw appropriate boundaries in preventing their teens’ influence, these kids will become enamored vastly with certain celebrities and acquire their bad habits in more ways than one.

Unfortunately, the media has engulfed individuals into unnatural mental and physical decisions that are at times self-driven and uncontrollable. According to the grapevine, weighing 140 lbs., the average U.S. women weight, is considered to be “fat.” Statistics have proven that word even reached elementary school kids and they are slowly becoming obsessive with their weight. Just lately researchers performed a study on preschoolers in choosing between two dolls that were identical except for weight, and the preschoolers chose the thinner doll nine out of ten times.

Even if the media is said to be a mirror of society and how people reflect on others, there needs to be some responsibility taken into account for this issue. Think about it. How many times does a person actually look at them self in the mirror daily? We are not looking at society here; we are staring into the eyes of something we wish to change. An average of 13 negative thoughts are brought into discussion with one’s body each day, while 97 percent of women admit to having at least one “I hate my body” moment each day. Celebrities, movie stars or reality television stars, are not only affecting others in their pitiable assertions, speaking for Spears and Lohan, but they are causing transformations for the worse.

On the contrary, I cannot speak for all popular superstars for credit must be given where it is due. Some celebrities have poor reputations such as the commonalities of diva attitudes, rock star lifestyles, or lose in morals, but there are some who do exist respectably. Tom Hanks, for example, is known in Hollywood not for his looks primarily but for his achievements and well kept twenty-year duration marriage. He is also acknowledged for being one of the nicest actors around-not usually heard of. Alongside Hanks, Natalie Portman is one to look up to (and at!) for her brains. She graduated from Harvard with a degree in psychology and proved the value of education.

Without a doubt, there are desirable crowds who claim the pedestal of a role model, it just so happens that teens and adults are more frequently brought to light and drawn to those not so notable for they tend to receive the majority of attention. It is understandable that each and every person shares the need to better themselves or improve upon different aspects, but why should it be that we settle for lower standards when there are others out in the world reaching for the same higher potential goals? Others referring to the valid and authoritative heroes who do not take pride in the amount of followers they have on twitter but the followers in their positive footsteps. These are the role models who take it into account that no matter where they go someone is always watching them whether it be a fan or a cameraman.

However, times have changed, to say the least, in where the media used to hide missteps of stars, they are now exposed. Celebrities have followers and, like any adherent or devoted person would do, they will copy actions of a person or an activity.It is the recent joke how these celebrities are taking advantage of their jobs for misguided reasons. This is not to say there are not celebrities willing to give to charities or pitch in to other events, but I see no purpose in highlighting an actor for their most recent “who can top this” poor occurrences.

These celebrities may be experienced in what they do on camera, but when it comes to reality, it is all about who causes the most drastic commotion in public. This is what we want our future kids to live up to? More than half of the actresses and actors did not even make it past high school graduation. Celebrities are their own world with their own group of species. It is in good health to check up on these idols occasionally, but lesson be known that too much concentration on them could overlook the celebrities’ flaws and their fallouts. Celebrities are not role models in how they cause too many negatives effects on teens such as eating disorders, drug abuse, or general bad behavior. Revealing adolescents to an excessive amount of social media is dangerous for these unlawful activities are neglected and place any television actor, deserving or not, in the position of “idol.”

This being said, these people can cause no unsatisfactory and have the eligibility of giving exemption to their actions. The common person may be on the outside looking in, but sometimes things look different when he or she is observing a situation rather than being in it.