New heroes of teenagers

• April 16, 2024

The current referents of contemporary adolescence have ceased to be cartoon characters (Batman and / or Superman), to become emblems of flesh and blood. Artists, singers or athletes are his new heroes.

Lady Gaga, for example, is one of the most recent icons among teenagers from all over the world, which not only marks a trend in clothing, music or language, but also in the way of life.

In an extensive report published recently by The Weekly Country of Spain , entitled "Heroes of the Twitter age", a group of experts in child psychology stresses that although idols have always existed, it is in the 21st century when the need to emulate them is stronger and their influence lasts longer.

"They are new heroes who leave their trail on Twitter, their images on YouTube and their exploits are discussed in the Messenger."

In the search for models

In the opinion of Dr. Maria Marcos, professor of evolutionary psychology at the Complutense University of Madrid, "human beings learn by imitation and always look for models. First are the parents, but once past the infant stage, when they realize that their parents are not perfect, the search for new references begins ".

These referents tend to be people from the environment, but in the digital age the influences to which children are more exposed have increased: the screens (whether of the television, the computer or the cell phone) bring singers, characters from series , of movies or videogames, says the specialist.

The current icons are not always positive

Make music imitating the Jonas Brother, or stop washing your hair because the interpreter of the main character of the Twilight saga, Robert Pattison, has declared that he does not, are patterns of behavior that follow millions of pubescents and teenagers in the world .

In the opinion of Beatriz Tejera, psychological counselor of a private school in Madrid, each era is framed by a series of characters who are admired for their qualities.

"Years ago they were superheroes or people given to just causes. At this moment, we take as an example figures that stand out excessively due to their external image. For these guys, what matters is what you see, everything that comes to you from the media that associates success with image and consumption, "says the specialist.

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