After reality stars and footballers, the Olympians are just what we’ve been looking for

Since the dawn of the millennium, we’ve seen reality television spread like wildfire. This often means playing up to stereotypes – whether it’s the buffed up, drink and sex centred lifestyles seen in Geordie Shore, or the lavish and spoilt behaviour appearing in Made in Chelsea – the stars are not necessarily employed for a talent or skill; but for our guilty pleasure.

Fortunately, these last two weeks have seen a different kind of role model come to the forefront of national media. That of Olympic athletes.

A study prior to the Games in May found that there is a lack of positive female models for young women. Girlguiding UK revealed that many girls aged between seven and 21 use reality television and celebrities as a blueprint for how they should live their lives. They also found that reality TV programmes such as The Only Way is Essex and Made in Chelsea “shaped the girls view of relationships and their own behaviour”.

Personally, I enjoy the odd bit of trash TV as light entertainment, but I also see a problem when young people start to admire the exaggerated stereotypes, and even emulate them.

The success of these shows isn’t just apparent in viewing figures. The Only Way is Essex (Towie) won a BAFTA last year, and this year, the British awards even introduced a new category to recognise the appeal of the genre: Reality and Constructed Factual.

Interestingly, Ruth Wrigley, the executive producer at The Only Way is Essex said she was not worried about the image of women the show portrayed, and believes it is a realistic view of how certain women in today’s society live their lives.

“I think a lot of the girls in Towie are entrepreneurial”, she said, as they “run shops and a beauty salon.”

But the lifestyle they adopted prior to the show is exactly what allowed them to become a cast member, and this is what has ultimately led to putting them in a financial position where running a business is viable. Thus sending out the message to young viewers that acting a certain way can get you far.

It seems that as a direct result of people gaining attention and success for their less than desirable traits in reality television, ignorance became more appealing.

A typical scene in constructed reality will be one character asking another if Charles Dickens indeed wrote Winnie the Pooh, or “Where’s North London?”.

Stupidity appears to have been a trait that’s been in vogue ever since Big Brother contestant Jade Goody first asked whether “East Angular” was abroad and the nation were enamoured with her.

Since, many lovable real-life characters have found their way into the spotlight for their seemingly adorable lack of awareness or desire for education. Often, the most amusingly quoted characters in reality shows go on to their own spin-offs – Amy Childs from TOWIE, for example – which tells young girls that this is something to look up to. It’s not watching that’s the problem, it’s the appeal of mimicking the behaviour as the only way to obtain a similar success.

Some contestants on Big Brother even seem to play up to stupidity as a trait, as they’re now more media savvy and know the potential for air-time and interest to come in droves.

Chatterboxing, a term by TV Licensing, is defined as “Watching a programme on the television whilst talking to others about that programme online, normally via a social media platform”.

This form of social engagement with television shows will only continue to increase, as many wish to get involved by interacting with friends or other viewers.

Tellybug’s tweet figures indicated the series opener of The Only Way is Essex was the fifth most talked about programme last year – behind the X Factor finals and results, the Eurovision and the Wimbledon final. Nearly half of those sharing their interest on these shows were under 18-24.

The apparent success – that of fame and celebrity – can be directly translated into monetary value by gaining lucrative sponsorship deals, and even paid-for product endorsing tweets. A loosely based reality formula can be conceived - that saying or doing something stupid in the public eye can be a quick and easy route to success.

The committed athletes we’ve seen embrace their chosen sport with grace and passion over the Games have offered a stark contrast to young stars in the limelight. Training hard to feel humbled to even compete; with natural beauty and varying body shapes embraced and strength, dedication and agility becoming the new boob job.

One negative thing to transpire, however, has been news sites publishing pictures of the athletes falling out of nightclubs and even upskirt shots. There was really no need make them out to be drunks and turn them into celebs; their gracious, affable and often poignant interviews both in victory and defeat paved the way for a higher calibre of role model for young people.

Whoever came up with “Inspire a Generation” slogan for London 2012 managed to encapsulate how many have felt since watching the Olympics (whoever thought up the dire mascots on the other hand might need to go back to marketing school).

The most popular male sports star stories which litter the press in the UK tend to be that of highly paid footballers linked to infidelity, prostitutes, racism and violence – many of these simply fail to offer suitable lifestyle choices for young people to look up to.

Watching reality television doesn’t have to be seen as a bad thing; but young people emulating negative stereotypes should. Our Team GB athletes will hopefully be welcomed by the next generation, offering them a refreshing contrast to images of young role models they’ve been bombarded with up until now. Just don’t follow them out of nightclubs, it counteracts the positive example they’ve worked hard to send out. And hopefully we’ll see a 1.4 billion boost to the economy seen in new sports equipment and activities, as opposed to the skyrocketing sales of fake nails, tan, and eyelashes.

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• stonedwolf

  Part of the reason the morons, idiots, cretins and bigots of Big Brother, Only Essex, Made Chelsea, X-Factor, etc., have so much national attention is the attention papers including the Independent spends on them.

  Read through a couple of years of commentators and bloggers. Jordan and Peter Andre might get a mention – athlete were not, and probably will not again after these Olympics.

• http://twitter.com/Lil_Richardjohn Lil

  Now can we get back to the real world? And wake up from the delusion that Sport Will Make Us Free. Sport is essentially just another form of theatre, nothing more. Every addition just pollutes it, such as the way it is used to create a race of Super-Hero role-models of perfection and power.

• peterv009

  Because if the cops find out that we know they are here to work for us (tax payers) and what we think of some of them they will poo their pants. How about a money back guarantee from public servants – it’s all too much ‘one-way’.

• FergalFury

  Oderint dum metuant (not any more). Gee Mommy why did the Indy ban Jody MacIntyre? Hush honey and say how great Grace Dent (?) and Owen Jones (?) are.

• http://www.simonkearns.com spiralise

  Sure, just what we need, role models that achieve success in inconsequential activities. Wish I could jump into a sandpit like that … not.

• mrpaolo

  But Sport does make us free; the first inclusion of a Saudi Arabian female athlete that defies the law. Does that not make her free? The fact she defied the rules, does that not push the barriers? The world was watching, like when Jesse Owens played the struggle for all to see. The fact that females were matched in all male sports, is that not a difference after the struggles of the previous generation/s? You say ‘Sport is only Theatre’, however this theatre was an amazing display of courage, a theatre only betrays what is on, if it’s pants it is pants, if it’s good, people will watch.

  It is easy to discourage, the personal struggle of somebody who is trying to achieve the best they have during their journey, especially during difficult circumstances, shows how it is beyond the sport. Are you worried the English are going to attack Europe on Road-Bikes with sharp helmets? Relax..

• http://www.facebook.com/people/Rich-Sims/725092507 Rich Sims

  good role models are few and far between and the best role models for kids are all fictional, i dear you to find a better role model than professor x or obiwan kenobi. The best things you can expose your kid to is batman or the avengers,FACT!

• TomNightingale

  Maybe you need vajazzling; stick some sequins round your mouth!

• scotsgal

  While I am all in favour of good role models for our children and believe that an interest in sport can only be successful if our children have the facilities to back them. Land is at a premium and it seems that councils are all to happy to sell off the sports fields and play areas to line someone’s pocket, and while backing for the elites seems to be a high priority ask for that same backing for our youth and we just don’t have the money.

• tyke87

  And the Palestinians were there much to the annoyance of their occupiers who claim that there are no such people as Palestinians, just Arabs.