UK expert Reg Bailey, chief executive of The Mothers’ Union charity, has warned that many young people think that adultery is acceptable and that marriages are not meant to last.

Bailey, who is preparing a report for the UK Department of Education, feels that many celebrities and sports personalities are influencing the way adolescents view relationships and marriage.

High profile break ups and intense media coverage of alleged affairs, like those of Tiger Woods, are making teenagers think that this is all part and parcel of a relationship and marriage. They no longer see marriage as a long term commitment.

It seems that if you are famous, the media is eager to follow you meeting someone, falling madly in love, getting married, having an affair and getting divorced. The media frenzy covers each stage in great detail and with equal enthusiasm regardless of whether it is a painful or joyful experience for the celebrity concerned. It is plastered over the internet, on TV and in magazines.

The celebrities for their part seem to buy into the publicity by giving interviews and coverage about every aspect of their lives. Many seem oblivious to the fact that they are role models and their attitudes and actions may have an effect of young minds.

Mr. Bailey told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that sportsmen and women clearly influenced young people’s behaviour and ideas of what was acceptable.

“I think there is a fair body of evidence out there that suggests that children are very influenced by certain individuals, particularly those in the public eye, a great deal, whether they be pop stars or sports people,” he said.

“One area that we will want to look at is where this influence comes from, what signals do children pick up from an early age and that will include role models.”

Jamie Murdoch of the UK relationships support charity Relate said “Actions have consequences and young people are growing up in a media-influenced culture where they perceive that having an affair is normal and a marriage that lasts is something which even many successful people can’t aspire to.”

Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald