Celebrities

Celebrities. Either you love them, you hate them, or you don't pay attention to them. Some even say that they are heroes and that they are the greatest thing on the planet. But how far can we take that comment? Everywhere you look, you see people modeling themselves after there favorite celebrity or sports figure. They will dress up in their outfits, change their hairstyles, and other such things to become closer to them. Some people even go as far as changing their behavior to the way they think these people act.
The question is: Do you really want that person as a role model? Most people need to take a step back and look at the big picture. You look at these celebrities and what are most of them doing? Going and partying until the crack of dawn on weekends, and other things that I won't mention here. How do we know that little kids won't start doing these things? Even professional athletes are questionable role models. With all the tattoos they have on their bodies, it's tough to believe we still have ink for pens!
Now despite what we do or say, these people do have big influences over many people across the world. Everything they do is being watched by someone else. Think about your life, if you had someone watching your every move, would you do some things different, do some things you weren't planning on doing, or not doing some things at all? Most of us have secrets that we would be terror-stricken if they got out in public, which is what these people have to live with everyday. It is amazing that these people can live like this and still go out in public!
These people, while amazingly tough, are still not the best people to become role models. The most appropriate models should be a father or mother, who have raised you to become the person you are. While some celebrities and athletes are better than others, you must pick and choose your models carefully.

The Net-Generation

What would you say if you heard that we, as teenagers, are self-centered, irresponsible, incompetent individuals addicted with computers, cell-phones, I-pods, etc. Well this is what many adults are saying about the youth of America today. You are not too bright, yet experts at figuring out technological devices. This is the classic portrait of how kids and teenagers think.
Right off the bat, I'll own up to the fact that I spend a lot of time listening to music when I am bored which includes: Riding the bus to and from school, Doing dishes, Mowing the lawn, etc. Yet often times I don't use it. I also spend a bit of each day on the computer, but most of it is for more educational purposes. The Internet has become a great place to enhance your knowledge, but it has also become sort of a death trap for us teens who don't know how to model our time right. I know of people who will spend more time chatting on Facebook then actually calling up a friend and doing something together.
Something that this article does not mention is the fact that not only are we becoming more digital, but so is the older generation. Half of my assignments from school now involve the internet. I have entire homework problems on-line, as well as lessons from various teachers. Adults have realized as well how much easier the internet is to use then handing out paper packets. So because we are required to accomplish schoolwork on the internet, makes us addicted?
It claims in the article that we are irresponsible with our personal information and other items. They have accused us of posting inappropriate pictures online, becoming a different person in chatrooms, and that we are only trying to make ourselves feel more important. I know that many people are victims of such behavior, yet none of the people I personally know and interact with everyday do this sort of thing. I know that there are people like that all around me, but I don't associate with them. I am around the people who can refrain from doing things that end up biting them in the butt. I know where to draw the line when it comes to internet and personal information, which disproves that statement.
All-in-all, this article does not have much of a backbone. It is basically a bunch of quotes and arguments from various reporters, academics, and individuals. The accusation that we are poor citizens and people who are unable to communicate in a civilized manner is completely false. If you go into a high school during lunch you will see everyone talking to everyone else. We are the Net-Generation and we are not so much different than generations before us, just enhanced.