A recent survey conducted by the British-American Tobacco funded Stiftung für Zukunftsfragen asked 14 - 29 year olds, who they would name as a role model/idol (Vorbild):
Mother Teresa (24%), Martin Luther King (20%), Mahatma Gandhi (15%), Anne Frank (14%), Hans and Sophie Scholl (11%) and Graf von Stauffenberg (7%).
Yes, they're all dead.
Doesn't really surprise me, though. I, too, would have a hard time to come up with a lively answer for that question, especially among "public figures". If pressed, I at the moment would feel least uncomfortable with Michele Obama (seriously).
What does surprise me, though, is that no athlete or popstar pops up in this top 6 list. Maybe (hopefully) my/the next generation did* finally understand that stars aren't role models**. Yet most people probably might still have "famous" people in mind when talking about role models/idols. Unfortunately, I'd say, since in my opinion, family members and everyday heroes are the best role models - maybe the only role models one should have, if one doesn't want to reject the concept "role model" entirely.
I found this survey in a post on Mädchenmannschaft, which describes hard time the participants in a recent discussion had to find a female role model. One interesting example that cought my eye was that somebody mentioned Lena Odental - but the participant wouldn't specify whether he meant the Tatort character or the actress portraying her, Ulrike Folkerts.
Maybe today's idols are dead - or fictional.
*Or the survey is just flawed. The list is way too conventional - and neat.
** Rockstars are either "just like us... or dicks"
Doesn't really surprise me, though. I, too, would have a hard time to come up with a lively answer for that question, especially among "public figures". If pressed, I at the moment would feel least uncomfortable with Michele Obama (seriously).
What does surprise me, though, is that no athlete or popstar pops up in this top 6 list. Maybe (hopefully) my/the next generation did* finally understand that stars aren't role models**. Yet most people probably might still have "famous" people in mind when talking about role models/idols. Unfortunately, I'd say, since in my opinion, family members and everyday heroes are the best role models - maybe the only role models one should have, if one doesn't want to reject the concept "role model" entirely.
I found this survey in a post on Mädchenmannschaft, which describes hard time the participants in a recent discussion had to find a female role model. One interesting example that cought my eye was that somebody mentioned Lena Odental - but the participant wouldn't specify whether he meant the Tatort character or the actress portraying her, Ulrike Folkerts.
Maybe today's idols are dead - or fictional.
*Or the survey is just flawed. The list is way too conventional - and neat.
** Rockstars are either "just like us... or dicks"
