Alyssa Gauna, a journalist, is very passionate about her controversial view regarding the “Negative Influences of celebrities on teens”, believing that, in today’s chaotic society, we should use technology to prevent famous people from having an impact on teenagers. In order to get her points across she generalises celebrities and teenagers, which I disagree with as she is stereotyping both groups of people. Due to her regular stereotyping, I also disagree with many of her points or only agree partly, depending on the circumstances. In addition, I do not think that celebrity culture is negatively affecting teenagers; in fact, I believe that it can have positive influences and at times, simply no influence at all. My first point from Gauna’s …show more content…
She writes that publicity means celebrities “have the easiest time influencing teens because they are so vulnerable”. I am of the opinion that celebrities can influence positively as they are in the public eye, for example when a celebrity represents a charity, showing kindness and empathy. There are many beneficial role models in the media stated in “Why do teenagers need role models?” by Robert Vaux. He highlights historical figures such as “Gandhi or Martin Luther King”. Vaux believes that when teens “stand firmly” by their political beliefs they can “make productive choices more easily” as they are inspired. A counter opinion to this would be that “drugs, sex and train wrecks” get more media coverage so make influencing the younger generation easier. Gauna has again generalised all teens describing them as “vulnerable” yet you don 't have to be young to be vulnerable and many teenagers are mentally strong enough to be perfectly capable of making their own decisions. This lack of vulnerability in many teens prevents them being susceptible to copying poor behaviour as they understand right from wrong, legal from illegal and safe from unsafe. Celebrities can have extremely positive influences, through their publicity and popularity, giving them the power to benefit many, whether they realise or not. An example of this is when Martin Luther King peacefully protested against racial discrimination-the fact that he conducted peaceful protests teaches the younger generation that violence and anger do not necessarily get you noticed and do not allow you to get what you want in life; young people can put this knowledge into action throughout their lives. This proves my opinion that celebrities do not affect teenagers negatively as they have a mind of their own. Gauna clearly focused too