Ruby Chrisco:

In today’s world of social media and propaganda all over the news, celebrities have become the all-time influencers of today’s youth. Through things such as body image, beauty and lifestyle, North Polk High School students express the effects that celebrities and influencers have on our youth today.

Most would say that celebrities and influencers have a huge impact on fashion trends and aesthetics especially on the youth. Savannah Stevenson, junior, said “ I definitely agree that the influencers I watch influence my style” but Grace Mumma, senior, states “ no” it does not influence her style at all.

With social media, there’s always something making one question their decisions or who they are. Not only do celebrities and influencers influence trends but they have a huge impact on decisions due to the urge to do everything they do. 

Stevenson said “I get really influenced by products so I’ll buy a bunch of beauty products and I’ll even change my workout routine if I see an influencer doing a different routine.”

Furthermore, other aspects of your decisions, other than trendy products or fashion, can be heavily influenced by celebrities as well.

Emma Daggot, junior, explained “I’ll change my routines, like morning routines, to make it shorter and efficient but I don’t really follow clothing trends or any of that”.

Trends are changing all the time especially in today’s world of social media. Societal beauty standards and expectations is a trend that most people overlook but is one of the most significant in today’s youth.

“I don’t feel pressure to get any work done but I do see how people can be heavily influenced to get work done in order to appease societal standards,” Delaney Hoescht, sophomore, said. Though she hasn’t gotten any work done, she “got a different haircut” because she saw one of her favorite youtubers do it.

The pressure to “fit in” and live the life of who you see on a screen is a pandemic all on its own. Though one can see the effects of social media more heavily than ever before in today’s youth, there is hope that not everyone wants to live the life of an influencer but instead live their own authentic life.

Daggot stated “I wouldn’t say I want the life of celebrities or who I see online but more like have the same success and achievements as they did to get there.”

Brianna Masereck:

Someone that may be know as friends or family have their favorite celebrities. Some people own a few things such as a T-shirt and a hat. Others may idolize a doll or a fantasy character like Mickey Mouse. 

Justin Jedlica idolized the Ken doll. Justin has spent more than a million dollars on surgeries to get himself looking like a real life Ken doll and has also had more than 1000 cosmetic surgeries.

In an Channel Seven news interview he had said “‘I’m enamored with our abilities to be able to modify our bodies. For me, it’s an artistic and creative endeavor that pulls me back to it 

Insecurities about your body and changing lots of physical features because it is not worth changing their entire appearance to look like a fake doll. 

Although he thinks that it is an artistic endeavor there are so many complications with having so many surgeries. His life is in the doctor’s hands so he can have surgeries like nose or a chest surgery.  

“Spending a lot of money on surgeries and the surgeries could get complicated” Freshman Hallie Moenkhaus stated when asked about Justin’s influence on idolizing the Ken doll if it is a negative or positive. Furthermore, Freshman Josie Jenkins agreed, stating “Negative because he’ll have kids think like that but they should not.”

These surgeries are not needed, they are just to change a look. Justin has taken it far and is constantly getting surgeries. All of these surgeries can start to take a toll on his physical health. 

Justin may not only be influenced by the Ken doll but may also influence other kids. This could cause other future kids to become more physically unhealthy and could end up in debt if they can not find the money to pay.

People loving celebrities and buying merchandise from them is a simple thing people do, but to idolize a doll to the point where it can affect your physical health is severely bad. 

Do people take the influence of celebrities too far? Some may not and others similar to Justin Jedlica do take it to fare. 

Wrigley Reynolds

Students and teachers at North Polk High School explain how they find positives and negatives throughout idolizing a celebrity. 

“Having a celebrity influence can hurt people and lower their self-esteem.” Evelyn Hall, a freshman, had stated. 

People find that having a person to look up to, can bring their perspective of themselves to a low. 

“I’ve seen a change in a few students when I hear them talking about an athlete or someone that they look up to,” study hall teacher, Sue Stevens, said. 

Having an idol can lead to major face changes such as plastic surgery. For example, a major social media influencer with the name Dr. Anthony Youn has taken his point of view on Plastic surgery to an extreme. His TikTok platform has more than 15 million followers just because of his opinions and tips and tricks for plastic surgery.

Charlee Mapes states “I’ve seen people on social media get plastic surgery or act like someone just to be identical to somebody.”

Having an influence can be a great thing for many different reasons, but there are more bad than good when it comes to idolizing celebrities. 

“I’ve looked up to a lot of people throughout my life but I have never really thought about changing myself to be like them,” Hall said. 

Everybody has looked up to someone at least once in their life, whether it be a parent, celebrity, family member or friend, and someone has been changed by one person in their life. It can either change their life tremendously, or very little.

“I care about myself and I think other people should too,” Hall said.