A celebrity-obsessed and educationally apathetic generation?

I listened to a very disturbing discussion on the radio the other day whilst I was sat in the car eating my lunch. The discussion was regarding the alleged obsession among our new youth with fame and celebrity status. The premise of the programme was that the ‘youth of today’ are becoming dangerously obsessed with the idea that fame is achievable for everyone and that fame is somehow an easy way to earn money without having to get a real job.

I think the concern was that reality TV shows are creating such an educationally apathetic generation and those close to the poverty line or those who believe they are unable to obtain a decent level of education are pinning their hopes on getting their 15 minutes of fame as a kind of get-out-clause.

How tragic would it be if education was shunned in favour of celebrity as a future career? In ancient Greece no one was famous for being famous; people were famous for being incredible scholars or incredible athletes, not for being incredible idiots who are willing to go to extreme lengths in the public arena just to get their face (or indeed something else) recognised.

Perhaps the idea is that education is waning in attractiveness to the incoming generation. Given the recent decision of the coalition government to significantly increase university tuition fees could it cause the approaching generation to rethink their futures and put them off the idea that in order to succeed they need to work hard and get a good education? If this is part of the cause for this shift in attitude then the Government really does have a lot to answer for. The whole point of state-provided education is to ensure that everyone has a fair chance regardless of their social background (I know it doesn’t work like that but it’s certainly better than nothing!), but if those graduates of state-provided education are put off continuing because of money then we’re potentially in for a nationwide shock to the system.

'Do you think the children of the generation really think that fame is a way out?'

I must admit, if I was 17 again, now trying to decide what to do with my future, the level of debt I’d graduate with would probably deter me, however, I would still look to the likes of the OU for an alternative. Whichever way you look at the increase in OU fees, they’re still half the cost of a standard campus university’s fees and you get to save on living costs by staying at home for the duration so the cost of further education needn’t put young people off.

Do you think it’s true? Do you think the children of the generation really think that fame is a way out? Well, interestingly enough there was a Professor interviewed on the programme who had carried out extensive research and found that less than two per cent of school-aged children believe that becoming a celebrity is a viable career path and actually aspire to be famous as an actual career choice. Phew, that’s a relief. With hope, our future generations are safe from the trappings of the celebrity jungle or the lambasting of the televised pop audition (never get me started on why X Factor is morally wrong, I’ll be on for hours).

I have faith in the youth of today. I suspect that this moral panic about kids being obsessed with fame and aspiring to be a celebrity-for-nothing is just a fanciful notion dreamed up by the middle-aged masses in a poor effort to insinuate that the ‘youth of today’ are morally corrupt and workshy. I doubt it though. The kids of today are smarter than that. Heck, from watching the Young Apprentice I reckon a lot of them are smarter than me!