VIP Class Notes (Joe) [w]

Writing exercise

In modern society, people tend to care more about celebrities’ appearances or social statuses, instead of focusing on their accomplishment in art, music or performing. This unwanted attention would definitely build a misleading message for the younger generations.

Attraction of famous people has become more related with being good looking and wealthy, and the public is more interested in their personal lives. For example, a reality show called ‘Keeping up with Kardashians’ has gained a huge fan base, as the show was all about exposing the wealthy’s life and showing how glamorous they are. The remarkable success of such television programs demonstrates the audiences’ preferences have changed from the stars’ talent to their wealth. In addition, some big names consider the current trend of the entertainment industry as abnormal too, whereas it contradicts the initial intention of the industry, which is to entertain people with art.

Consequently, there would be negative effects on teenagers. It would be human nature to imitate others, especially when at a younger age. Therefore, such current trends are more likely to be blindly followed by the younger generations. This can also illustrate the reason why there are so many teenagers ‘showing off’ on social media, and posting photoshopped pictures of themselves. Moreover, the sense of vanity introduced by the trend further stimulates the issue of children being misguided by the wrong values.

In conclusion, I definitely believe that the increasing attention on superstars’ personal lives would create inadequate role models for children. Thus, it would be necessary, or even urgent, to deal with the problematic trend.

Vocabulary

Synonyms for celebrities
– stars / superstars / big names / household names
Some of the household names in China are Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.

Role model
– someone who children try to imitate

Homework

Replace at least 5, but a maximum of 10 words or phrases from your essay with synonyms from this list. https://www.prepscholar.com/toefl/blog/toefl-vocabulary-list/