While surfing the Internet on Tuesday, I came across Time’s list of “The 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014.” Still being a teenager, I take a vested interest in those who the media claims to be the most influential leaders in my peer group. I expected to be impressed by the achievements of successful young men and women — individuals who make me hopeful for our generation’s future. Instead, Time chose to elevate shallow celebrities chasing five minutes of fame to the level of young people making an actual difference in this world.
In some ways, the article gave credit to those who truly deserved it. The list included many names, some I’d never heard before, and after reading about these role models, I gained a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for them.
This list included 15-year-old Erik Finman who invented Botangle.com, a video chat tutoring service for teens who, according to the article, “wanted more than limited education opportunities.” I was also impressed by 13-year-old Mo’ne Davis, a female African-American athlete who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated “after pitching a shutout game in the Little League World Series.”
Most notably, however, was 17-year-old Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, who, after being shot in the head by a Taliban gunman just two years ago, became the youngest recipient ever of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Since then, Yousafzai “has used her organization, the Malala Fund, as a platform to promote girls’ education, help Syrian refugee children and demand the return of the Nigerian girls kidnapped by Boko Haram, among other things.”
It is these types of young people that make me feel as though our generation really is making a positive impact, instead of depicting us as focusing all of our energies on competitions for the best tweet, #selfies, or the highest number of Facebook friends.
My hope was crushed as I read on. Alongside this seemingly reputable and exclusive group, Time recognized the exact types of people who are bad representatives of teenagers. Some particularly cringe-worthy honorees were 15-minutes-of-famers like Becky G. (the “artist” responsible for the summer’s most asinine song, “Shower”), the always-awkward Lorde and the cherry on top, Kendall and Kylie Jenner.
Why is it acceptable to compare young business prodigies, amazingly talented athletes, social activists, or Nobel Peace Prize winners to Vine celebrities like Nash Grier (seriously though, who is he?), the irrelevant Jaden Smith, or the youngest Kardashian sisters? How can Time put these fleeting media sensations on the same pedestal as lifetime achievement award winners?
It’s shocking and disheartening to witness such a reputable magazine describe such opposite groups as equally important to teens. The article’s online intro describes the list as documenting teens proficient in “social-media followings, cultural accolades, business acumen and more.”
Teenage “celebrities” with millions of Twitter followers are not as impressive as business owners with millions of dollars. Nobel Peace Prize winners should not be considered in the same league as some of the other lesser-known names on this list.
My advice for next year’s list: make two. One can include globally-influential teens and the other can include those who are famous for their older sister’s sex tape. The line must be drawn somewhere. To do anything less is an insult to the intelligence of teens everywhere.