I have been thinking on this for quite some time and it seems that everybody wants to be famous except for famous people (ok I know not everyone but you get the point).
I worry for my children about the fact that we live in a culture that is obsessed with the idea of being famous. Most likely all of you reading this are past that however our kids are being fed this idea everyday.
The Voice Kids, Masterchef Kids, Youtube, So You Think You Can Dance, Australia’s Got Talent and the list goes on. Quite a few of my friends are youth workers and my husband works as a primary school teacher.
My friends and husband have mentioned on more than one occasion that when they ask a young person what they want to do when they grow up they often get the answer “BE FAMOUS” like that is some kind of career choice.
I am frightened that media is influencing our kids to think that the ultimate success in life is to “BE FAMOUS”. I think that is really scary. The other thing about these reality TV shows is how you don’t really have to work that hard to “MAKE IT”. Sure the 10 weeks or so they were competing in the show were stressful and the ultimate winner had to apply themselves but in reality it is a pretty short road to fame.
The other reality is for most of the people who win these kinds of things is their fame is very short lived and then what???
Our kids are missing out on the reality of hard work, skill development, wins and losses and are getting caught up in the idea of being famous as some kind of career choice.
More and more there are stories in the media of celebrities overdosing, suiciding, and being put into rehab. This gets me to thinking… there seems to be this belief that having money and being famous will bring you the ultimate happiness. I am not so sure that is true? If it was true then why are we hearing more and more of these stories.
We have not really exposed our kids to these kind of shows as yet however I know we won’t be able to block it. I am already scared as Miss 6 is showing all the signs of wanting to be a singer and perform for people on shows. I know some of this is normal kid behaviour as I was a bit the same when I was a child however with the influence of media this innocence can soon become confused and unrealistic.
Sometimes I feel the most fulfilled after a hard day’s work cleaning the house. Who is teaching our kids to find satisfaction and joy and happiness in the mundane. I think we as a society are guilty of believing that money and fame is what buys you happiness. I am sure to a degree it would buy you some however it is also becoming clear that it is not the thing that will make you happy. In fact it may cause you the exact opposite as what you were expecting turns out to be wrong? I imagine there are alot of hard, dark and lonely times for famous people and money makes no difference.
These are just my thoughts and some ramblings and I would encourage you as a parent to think about how you talk to your kids about possibilities and to help them not get caught up in the notion that being famous is the ultimate in life. As I said at the start I get the feeling that everybody wants to be famous except for famous people.
Written By Sam Shazzam aka School Mum
If you want to become a Fellow School Mum and stay updated with all the latest then click here!!
Oh, and why not pop over and ‘like’ us on Facebook OR perhaps Twitter is your thing. . You can also find us on Pinterest & Instagram too!
