Switched-On Magazine

Generally, a role model is someone who people imitate or look up to. Even though role models aren't always famous, for many kids and teens a role model is someone whose names and faces they and others like them easily recognize on TV or in movies. Famous actors and actresses, especially those who appear frequently on shows targeted towards kids and teens, often are in a young person's eyes a person to look up to. But what if they are doing something inappropriate or unworthy of being modeled?

Most celebrities are aware that they are in the public eye and that whatever they do will for sure be scrutinized by people who have never met them or know them only by their public personas. Some celebrities behave according to choice, some according to what they want to uphold as their public image. For celebrities whose fame rely upon the consumer group of tweens and teens, it is important that they uphold a public image that corresponds with the values of the people who pay for what these tweens and teens consume: the parents, guardians, and caregivers.

Part of that public image is acting as a role model for young people. With recent controversies over the behavior and the actions of some tabloid-attracting celebrities, some parents and children alike might be wary of emulating famous actors or singers. It has become common to see flashy, alarming headlines about former child stars and current stars alike doing something that is either not appropriate from a parent perspective or doing something that is uncalled for. When parents and caregivers of children see such inappropriate behavior coming from their children’s role models, they might become discouraged from buying products or watching the media of which those so-called role models are a part.

Equally if not more important is the impact their behavior has on the kids and teens themselves. Many children are impressionable, and when they see their role model acting like a diva or acting inappropriately they might be encouraged to act in a similar way towards people around them. Though there isn't an official mandate stating that people in the public eye should act according to society's standards, parents might argue that celebrities who rely on kids for their success still have some responsibility to act as good role models if they want to continue to succeed. After all, a celebrity wouldn't be one if it had not been for their fans.