Fan Craze
It is amazing the effect Celebrities have on teenagers. Just recently, I saw a picture of two American teenage sisters attending an event on an online news site. As they posed on the red carpet, you could see hundreds of excited pre-teens and teenagers screaming in the background. I may not have been that fan-crazed when I was eleven, but I was a teeny bit crazy. I was such a huge fan of Scary Spice that I used all her unusual nail polish colours( which are now considered normal); Mel B was my idol. Back then, I could have done anything to look like her; she was everything I wasn't; outgoing, vibrant, and playful, but I loved her. I desperately wanted to get a tongue piercing and a belly button piercing, but couldn't because there was no Piercing Parlour back then in the ancient city of Kano. Decades down the line, I never did get the piercings done even when I had several opportunities.
A few years down the line, I discovered tongue piercings meant different things to different people. In fact I began to realize that people with multiple ear piercings, eyebrow piercings, and tongue piercings were never taken seriously in the society, especially in the work environment. They were never percieved as being morally upright, or having friends that were bad news.
For a teenager, all that 'ethical talk' doesn't make sense. What is most important is being accepted by peers and being percieved as 'cool'. Teenagers don't always think about the law of cause and effect, and are just naturally spontaneous.
They don't mind looking like the coolest celebrity now, from Lady G or Justin Timberlake to Riri or Zac Efron. It really is up to the society to effect a positive change in the future of our children. Let's help them believe in themselves, let's encourage them to be the best they can be.
We need to stop believing that since friends and peers appear more important, then we need to back down. This is when our teenagers need us more.
They need to know we love them and we need them to be accountable to us, hence the monitoring.
The media and the peer group have an unmistakeable influence on teenagers. Yes, there is the need to be accepted by peers, but as their influence increases, our close monitoring and show of care must remain consistent.
They should get accustomed to the care we express, so that when we are not present, they know their worth, and don't need to make poor decisions to feel accepted by peers.
A few years down the line, I discovered tongue piercings meant different things to different people. In fact I began to realize that people with multiple ear piercings, eyebrow piercings, and tongue piercings were never taken seriously in the society, especially in the work environment. They were never percieved as being morally upright, or having friends that were bad news.
For a teenager, all that 'ethical talk' doesn't make sense. What is most important is being accepted by peers and being percieved as 'cool'. Teenagers don't always think about the law of cause and effect, and are just naturally spontaneous.
They don't mind looking like the coolest celebrity now, from Lady G or Justin Timberlake to Riri or Zac Efron. It really is up to the society to effect a positive change in the future of our children. Let's help them believe in themselves, let's encourage them to be the best they can be.
We need to stop believing that since friends and peers appear more important, then we need to back down. This is when our teenagers need us more.
They need to know we love them and we need them to be accountable to us, hence the monitoring.
The media and the peer group have an unmistakeable influence on teenagers. Yes, there is the need to be accepted by peers, but as their influence increases, our close monitoring and show of care must remain consistent.
They should get accustomed to the care we express, so that when we are not present, they know their worth, and don't need to make poor decisions to feel accepted by peers.
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