"Children as young as nine are determined to get a tan this summer, a study has revealed.
The study of 1,000 youngsters, aged from nine to 16 years, found just under half believe getting a tan this summer is important to them with many using various tricks to maximise their sun exposure.
Not applying any sun cream, sitting out in the midday sun and applying baby oil were some of the methods adopted by image-conscious children in order to get a tan. Other tricks include rolling up the arms and legs of their school uniform, using a tan accelerator and wearing as few clothes as possible.
The study to highlight its summer skin cancer education campaign found a third of nine to 16-year-olds regularly sunbathe in their back garden and 14 per cent said they were likely to try and catch the rays in the school playing fields."
This isn’t really something new. This is all about the perceived idea of what beauty is. This is what happens when Magazines and celebrities target a specific group of people like Teenagers. Advertisements are placed all to get people to buy their product. Children look up to these people and the corporations know this and found very effective ways to exploit it all to make money.
A tanned skin is in fact a burnt skin, but it is being advertised as being “good looking”. There are so many products out there to help with getting tanned – all because of the belief and perception of what beauty is. The problem is much bigger than just a sun tan.
Celebrities are seen by these teenagers as “Role Models”. That means that they look up to these people and want to be like them – unfortunately These “ Role Models” set a very bad example. Look at Miley for example – what does she stand for exactly? Sex and exploitation. Its Teenagers listening to her music and watching her and wanting to be like her – what sort of generation of people are going to come out of this? There many examples of “Celebrities” that set a very bad example and is in fact the exact opposite of a role model and its simply unacceptable. They are ruining people’s lives by influencing them all just for profit.
Being a role model comes with a great responsibility, because your actions have consequences that affect many people’s lives. It is time that “celebrities” understand this point and stop doing what they are doing only for profit. The funny about that is if they do stop they will not be making money anymore. Many blame the celebrities and the parents – the parents for not educating their children to stop worshipping fake people. All parties involved are Responsible – the “role models”, the companies behind them, the children being targeting and the parents of the children.
Right now there is not much you can do about the celebs and the companies profiteering, but parents and children can get to a point where they are no longer influenced by advertisements. To be able to be self-directed and not directed by anything outside yourself and to be able to see what is real and what is beliefs and ideas and perceptions. To understand why you are so easily manipulated is key to self-development. Find out how here
