The powerful influence of social personalities is a contentious issue of the 21st century. One school of thought holds that they have an adverse impact on children’s perspectives in general. Others, however, stick to the notion that it is beneficial to have influencers as role models. While the former bears some truth, I believe the latter is more sensible.
Proponents of this view point out that the role of social media stars is detrimental for a child. In most cases, influencers do not stick to a healthy lifestyle and promote violent and inappropriate content like smoking and drinking. Ultimately, children who admire them a lot start to imitate everything that they post, developing bad habits and wrong values at the end.
Opponents of this standpoint, including me, argue that this is never the case and that it is influencers who motivate young viewers and give them stimulation to aim high. This perspective is rational since nowadays children spend excessive amounts of hours online and are constantly exposed to social media. As a result, only people who theytry to follow and imitate lifestyles are influencers. While there are some individuals who show violence and unacceptable things on their accounts, the majority of them are successful and accomplished personalities who post educational videos, share friendly pieces of advice, and showcase their achievements. For instance, All these things can be considered as an excellent example for the younger generation because when children have role models like these, they not only see that success is real, but also broaden their horizons, and start to put a lot of effort into being like them.
In my opinion, influencers are neither inherently harmful nor automatically beneficial; their impact depends largely on the content they produce and how audiences engage with them. While there is a genuine risk of negative influence, this can be mitigated through media literacy education that teaches young people to critically evaluate online content. When approached thoughtfully , influencers can be a powerful force for positive change rather than a source of harm.
In conclusion, although influencers can negatively affect young people by promoting superficial values, they also have a potential to inspire and educate. Ultimately, balanced regulation and informed consumption are key to maximising their benefits while minimising their risks.