Entertainment celebrities have become an intricate part of our daily lives. We see them on television, hear them on radios and even read about them in newspapers and magazines. With media exerting considerable influence in our everyday lives, so have entertainment celebrities who utilise the media to gain popularity. Some people may argue that the influence has led to a positive effect on our everyday lives while others say they have detrimental consequences on our daily lives. In this essay, I will present both points of argument before finally explaining why in my opinion entertainment celebrities are more of a bad influence rather than worthy idols.
Idols exert a bad influence on people as they instil wrong values into people’s mindsets such as having good looks are imperative. This is due to the popular portrayal of entertainment celebrities by the media as extremely appealing. The media also portrays beauty as being the norm. This has caused people to increasingly pursue good looks by means such as plastic surgery. Statistics have shown a rise in the cases of youth undergoing plastic surgery. Not only plastic surgery is highly unnatural it also causes potential risk with the possibility of adverse side effects. A greater emphasis has also been placed on outer instead of inner beauty. This has led to a vainer society which pursues beauty instead of higher moral standards.
Entertainment celebrities have also been shown to display undesirable traits such as dabbling with drugs or promiscuity. One such example would be Lindsay Lohan who has been known to consume drugs and is frequently placed in rehabilitation centres. Another example would be of famous pop Idols such as Britney Spears or Lady Gaga who actively promote sexuality through their songs and music videos. We may well be subconsciously picking up these traits just by listening to our MP3 or through other portals of media.
In addition, entertainment celebrities can lead to an unhealthy obsession of people towards their idols. For example, recently a Korean pop concert held in Singapore saw an unprecedented number of youth attending the event although it was close to the examination period. This shows how youth are willing to forgo their studies to watch their idols perform. This has also led to worship by fans and various cults put in place in reverence of these celebrities. We are simply forgetting that entertainment celebrities are not exceptional nor special, they are normal human beings just like you and me.
However, entertainment celebrities cannot be said to be totally bad influences as there are certain aspects to them that make them worthy idols. They add colour and zest into our otherwise boring and dull lives. For example, comedians help to relieve stress and make people happy. Entertainment celebrities have also helped to spread culture through popular media such as soap operas. For example, recently aired drama “The Little Nonya” helped to reignite popular interest in Nonya culture. This has led to an increased awareness in traditions and customs that might have been long forgotten. But conversely, entertainment celebrities have also caused erosion of culture. For example, popular television dramas from the US such as the Vampire Diaries have caused people to become more interested in foreign culture instead of local cultures due to better appeal. This may be dangerous as youths are increasingly forgetting their roots and cultural essence in favour of foreign culture.
On the other hand, entertainment celebrities have also instilled important morals into people’s minds through popular dramas, for example, growing up, highlight important life lessons. Historical dramas inform people about important past events to remind people not to commit similar mistakes and also to edify people more on history and to spark an interest in learning history. However, due to the desire to grasp the attention of audiences, historical dramas may distort facts and are melodramatic leading to inaccuracies and imparting of false facts.
In conclusion, I feel that entertainment celebrities are a bad influence as they impart the wrong values in people and cause an unhealthy obsession among fans. Their visual appeal only serves to boost people’s vanity in the pursuit of unattainable perfection in beauty. People should always remember that entertainment celebrities are only humans and certainly not the complete guiding light as to how we will lead our lives.