Young people and their media role models

Whether in series and manga, in video games and social media or in the world of celebrities – young people encounter figures and characters everywhere that inspire them. Whether superheroes like Spider Man, game characters like Ahri, anime characters like Levi Ackerman or stars like Billie Eilish – teenagers regard a wide variety of media figures as their role models and look up to them.

What media role models mean for young people

Do you remember how enthusiastically your child told you about his favorite characters from movies and television a few years ago? From an early age, children are guided by their favorite media characters. Young people also look for role models not only in their immediate environment of family, friends or clubs, but increasingly in the media offerings they use.

Forming one’s own identity is one of the most important tasks in adolescence. Media content and characters take on important functions for young people. In this way, media role models can help people develop their own values. They can not only offer young people orientation and support, but even inspire them to try out and experiment with different identities and roles. It is character traits such as courage, honesty, loyalty, sincerity and perseverance that go down particularly well with young people. But they are also fascinated by characters who are particularly funny or original or who pursue big goals.

It is particularly important for teenagers to share information about their media idols, which creates a sense of community. Often, clothing, (youth) language or hobbies, but also media use itself, show which media role models they feel close to. Youth cultures, such as e-boys and e-girls, are popular among young people, and by belonging to such currents they also distinguish themselves from one another within their peer group.

What media role models are there?

In addition to a large number of fictional characters from films, series, games and books, real people from the media world also inspire young people. These can be celebrities from the film and music industry or social media stars. With this variety of media figures, it can happen that one loses the overview. Here are a few examples:

• Celebrities from show and sports business such as Ariana Grande, Cristiano Ronaldo and Giulia Gwinn are important figures that young people look up to and emulate. YouTube stars such as Julien Bam, Gronkh and Shirin David are also very popular with young people. As influencers in particular, stars offer a high potential for identification and allow their followers to actively participate in their lives. This supposed closeness can lead to your child seeing them as their ‘best friend’ or ‘big sister’
• On social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and the like, young people can find media role models who match their interests perfectly. Well-known fitness influencers include Sophia Thiel and Laura Sophie, while in the lifestyle sector, young people can meet Julienco and the twins Lisa and Lena, among others. When it comes to fashion, they follow Madeleine Darya Alizadeh (Dariadaria) and Helge Mark, among others, and if they are interested in make-up tips and skincare, beauty influencers such as Paula Wolf and Maxim Giacomo are interesting. LukasBS and Pandorya, on the other hand, are well-known Let’s Players and Jasmin Gnu is another increasingly diverse figure in the gaming scene. More and more influencers, so-called meaning influencers, are addressing socially relevant topics online on their channels. In Germany, Luisa Neubauer is particularly well known for her environmental content and Rezo for his political content. If you love DIYs, you might find Easy Alex or Linda Seel to be role models. Sometimes young people just want to pass the time. Some influencers offer the best entertainment on their channels – often without committing to a specific topic.
• There are heroes, like those from the Marvel universe, who save the world together or alone. Various characters, such as Spider Man, Iron Man, Black Widow, Thor and Hulk come together and form “The Avengers” (in German: die Rächer) together with many other characters to protect the universe.
• The Harry Potter universe is still very popular today. Whether the novels or the films – the characters still enchant young people today. In addition to Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, new characters such as Newt Scamander and Jacob Kowalski have been introduced in the Fantastic Beasts series of films, creating excitement on the big screen.
• Anime are Japanese animated series that many young people are passionate about. Here, heroes from other worlds fight demons and monsters to protect people. Well-known characters include Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Nezuko from Demon Slayer or Satoru Gojo and Yuji Itadori from Jujutsu Kaisen.

What should parents pay attention to?

Parents don’t have to like their children’s media idols. Nevertheless, talk to your child about their media heroes. Ask which of their character traits your child particularly likes.

Media also feature figures who are not well suited as role models. They may model problematic behaviors or teach questionable values. Sometimes they reproduce stereotypical gender images, prejudices or clichés that result in a false or incomplete worldview. Media role models play an important role in forming political opinions, but they do not always live up to their responsibility. Young people are particularly susceptible to populism, extremism and disinformation during the orientation phase. This is especially true when such content comes from their favorite influencers. The role model function of internet stars can also become questionable in connection with advertising. For example, when popular influencers promote products, this can sometimes be done indirectly or covertly.

Talk to your child about critical behaviors and clarify stereotypes. Remain neutral and unbiased when asking questions and engage with their world of media role models. Maybe it helps if you remember your own youth and your idols. How did you feel at that time?