Reality TV turn-off: young Brits would rather be a GP than on TV
By Effective Communication
A new study from the Ambition AXA Awards has found that British young people are turning away from the dream of reality TV stardom, looking instead at traditional professions. And staying at home with the kids is seen as a career no-no.
Young people feel that telling friends they were a stay-at-home parent or reality TV ‘star’ would be worse than admitting to working in a burger restaurant.
On the other hand, however, traditional ‘white-collar’ and professional roles are viewed as occupations with the best bragging rights, with 88 per cent of young Brits saying they would be most proud to tell friends they were a doctor, followed by lawyer (80 per cent), scientist (80 per cent), and teacher (77 per cent).
Almost four in ten (37 per cent) 11 – 18 year olds admit they would be least proud of saying they were a stay-at-home parent, shopkeeper, hairdresser, or reality TV star, while 48 per cent would squirm at the thought of revealing to pals that they were a train driver. In contrast, just 17% say they would feel least proud admitting to friends that they flip burgers for a living.
Contrary to popular opinion, the media has much less impact than the wise words of authority figures: parents, teachers and careers advisers have the most influence in helping shape kids careers (98 per cent, 94 per cent and 90 per cent), with newspapers and television scoring just 52 per cent.
This could explain why the lure of becoming a reality TV star or pop star holds less appeal than a more traditional role, with just 1 per cent and 8 per cent respectively cited as careers young people think would make them most proud of themselves, although becoming a footballer is a popular choice (13 per cent, rising to 21 per cent among male respondents). Interestingly, few of either gender view becoming an MP or a banker as a source of pride (both scoring just 3 per cent each), although whether this is down to parental or media influence is not clear.
As children get older, the thought of becoming a soldier becomes an increasing badge of pride, with 10 per cent of 17 to18 year olds citing it as a career to be proud of, compared to just 6 per cent of 11-13 year olds.
Claire Elwin, Head of Human Resources at AXA said: “What this clearly shows is that young people have their heads firmly screwed on. They don’t all want to become famous for the sake of it, and clearly have high ambitions. While their view of a stay-at-home parent may be a little misguided, it is at least heartening to see those careers that are the results of hard work and determination as a source of pride, both to themselves and to their peers.”
The study was commissioned to support AXA’s initiative, the Ambition AXA Awards. The £200,000 awards scheme for 11-18 year olds will reward young UK talent and achievement in Enterprise, Science, Community, Sport and The Arts. Five talented young people could each win a bespoke mentoring prize worth up to £40,000 (a total prize fund of £200,000). The winners will be announced on 30 November 2011, after which the judging panel will help the winners to create a development package that will help them to achieve their goals.
Tags: Ambition AXA Awards, AXA, children's careers, Reality TV stars
