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Originally Posted by armand.kay
Yeah the Z lists actions may not be ideal and I would be a tad concerned if I came across a person who was inspired to wet the bed because charlotte did it. But having a child that is loved by many because of their personality alone is also something I would be really proud of. Olympic athletes are not squeaky clean themselves e.g. preforming enhancing drugs and the whiled parties that were in the press during London 2012. Also the olympics have this underlying theme of devoting your entire life to that sport and pushing your body to its limit in order to become the best and yeah that may or may not be the case but its what is heavily promoted and is packaged to kids as hard work and dedication.
The only reason parents would be proud is because the're highly praised in our society and parents are told to be proud of their olympic children. It doesn't mean it has any more importance that a reality tv show imo. Like most parents would probably be more proud of a child who grows to be a gold winning athlete than they would be for a child who's given up their life to become an activist for a cause they believe in...
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I think it's a matter of being loved for the wrong reasons though, but I guess that's personal opinion against personal opinion. To me, there is a lot more dignity to the Olympic Games than The Only Way Is Essex or Geordie Shore. Like I said, there is good and bad in Olympians and Reality stars alike, there's such in all kinds of people in world. People who take supplemants to enhance their performance are normally looked-down upon and represented negatively in the media. To an extent, there's nothing wrong with being a party-animal. I don't see Olympians going to parties as a negative thing at all, but I'd be worried to think that my child would look up to someone who's life revolves around getting drunk and having sex (Geordie Shore), or having their life constantly followed and aired to make television (The Only Way Is Essex and Made In Chelsea).
It's not even like I'd be upset if my child ended up as a reality star, and it is their choice to follow their desire how they see fit. It's just that Olympians represent so much hard-work, and there seems to be a change in society where negativity is now being rewarded, and people like Joey Essex and Charlotte Crosby are being put on pedestal despite being succesful on the merit of being on a TV show. There's no hardship or dignity to that. Imagine if someone trained for the Olympic Games and then faced deselection, then imagine if someone signed up for Geordie Shore but didn't manage to make it on the show. I know which person i'd feel more sorry for. That point may be irrelevant to initial discussion, but it to me it certainly makes me realise who should be put on a pedestal.
I have firedns my age that say their idols are Joey Essex, it's just slightly concerning in my opinion. I don't think Jake even thinks parents are pushing kids to look up to reality stars as idols, but he just wants to enforce the fact that parents need to remind kids that Olympians do more hard-work than any of those people would. You can be successful in any realms possible and it's still success, I get that. But it's striving your children to look at the qualities of these people who represent their country and a world-wide activity, and represent the country for the good.