By ANNA MARIE BORIA
Teenagers of today are being exposed to the lives of Hollywood’s elite almost continuously. This kind of exposure is influencing today’s youth in more ways than one.
The effects of influential celebrities can be positive as well as beneficial to a young adult’s life, especially if one lacks a positive influence. Seeing how certain stars portray themselves and handle certain situations can inspire a teenager.
“I think teenagers look up to celebrities who they feel they have a certain connection to, which inspires teens to be like them in different ways,” sophomore Jalen Harper said.
One of those inspire worthy celebrities is four time Grammy award winner Taylor Swift. Swift has donated millions of dollars to charities such as the Red Cross and has received a VH1 Do Something Award in honor of her efforts to the community. She is star girls of all ages can find relatable and one of the few young starlets who goes through the Hollywood spotlight with elegance and poise.
“Taylor Swift has inspired everything from my hair to my music choices. I look toward her music for relationship advice and find Taylor Swift relatable because she’s not perfect, but she goes by her own morals and is not influenced by negative things,” junior Rachel Pierce said.
These exceptional traits portrayed by Swift give a positive message to teenagers, unlike the traits portrayed by former Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen. Endless nights of partying, half a dozen stays in drug rehab and multiple arrests have turned this once top paid sitcom actor’s life into one continuous controversy.
“Charlie Sheen is a bad influence. A celebrity is someone you should be able to look up to. and doing drugs isn’t something you should do,” freshman Christina Dean said.
Living a controversial life can be a positive example to teenagers who may have drifted into an irresponsible path. It can only be true when a celebrity comes back from a troubled time stronger and more focused, which can inspire a teenager to do the same. No story resembles this more than the story of Britney Spears.
In 2007, the queen of pop’s breakdown was plastered in the media worldwide. The breakdown caused her to go into rehab, temporarily lose custody of her children and voluntarily lose her hair. By the end of 2008 she cleaned up her act and released two number one records Circus in 2008 and Femme Fatale in 2011 and is now happily engaged. Her journey is inspirational to a number of teenagers.
“Britney Spears has influenced me to just be myself and keep going. [She has showed me that] people will say and do harsh things but to keep going with your life and stay positive. Britney had a public meltdown but overcame it and still stayed true to herself,” senior Timothy Rivera said.
Aside from influencing fashion and musical choices, celebrities have the power to trend positivity as well as negativity to this generation.
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