Whether it be self-proclaimed or not, many artists in the music industry are looked at as role models for children and young adults. But is this a fair label to attach to them ?
It's easy to understand why children look up to celebrities who are beautiful, talented, wealthy and often portrayed as having perfect lives. However, there is an uprising of parents who believe that there are more negative connotations attached to the celebrity lifestyle such as drinking, tattoos and promiscuity.
Rihanna has recently spoken out against accusations made by journalists about her being a 'bad role model' for young female fans of hers by stating that she has never claimed to be a role model and doesn't feel that she should have the responsibility of helping to raise other peoples children.
I can understand her point and agree that musicians, whose job it is to entertain the public not educate children, should not be criticised when they act in a way that may not be seen as 'responsible' in the eyes of parents. Rihanna is a young, childless female who makes music about love, sex and abuse which are all topics that aren't particularly aimed at twelve year olds so she isn't trying to appeal to the young and impressionable.
Her outspoken personality, provocative dancing and unique sense of style are quite clearly not appropriate for anyone below the age of sixteen; hence, why are adults allowing their child to listen to or watch Rihanna in the first place, especially if they feel that their child is easily influenced by other people.
If they have any issues with her lyrics or videos than it is easy to steer their child away from it - is it not the parents responsibility to filter the musical content that their child has access to ?
Furthermore, how can any person in the entertainment industry be titled a role model no matter how age appropriate they appear. Let's say, for example, Taylor Swift who presents herself as a good girl and doesn't seem to give parents any reason to accuse her of being a bad influence on their children. Although we don't see her partying, her music steers clear of parental advisory stickers and her red-carpet attire remains classy, she is still a 22 year old female. She is bound to mess up at some point - maybe she'll swear on stage or flash a bit of cleavage - somewhere along the line she will make a mistake as any human being does and seeing as she is in the public eye, we will all hear about it.
These celebrities have no control over natural human tendencies like messing up, but it is ultimately the media who make the final decision over whether to expose these flaws and share them with the rest of the world.
Ok, so maybe thanks to Twitter and Instagram, Rihanna and everyone else can make the decision whether or not to post a picture of themselves smoking weed or not but would anyone really hear about every picture uploaded and every tweet post if it wasn't for the blogs and magazines that exploit them and make headlines out of them.
Taking on the label of role model is a huge responsibility because it puts you on a pedestal so high that even the slightest wobble will open up the flood gates for attack...and nobody is perfect.
Obviously children are easily influenced by what they see in the media and you can't control absolutely everything that your child sees and hears; however, as a parent, it is your responsibility to raise your child to know right from wrong and not pass the responsibility on to the entertainment industry and the people within it.
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