Young people long for authenticity. They express it in the music they listen to, the movies they watch and the clothes they wear. Culture as a whole, often takes these expressions born of freedom and creates their own inauthentic ‘group’ look with them; thus, defying the young person’s attempt to be an individual and be authentic. It doesn’t change the desire and longing to search for authenticity, it just perverts it (Heike).
Young people look for authenticity in other people. Particularly in their role models. Are they hypocrites? Do their actions follow their words? Can a person ever be excused for behaving differently to how they speak and believe? Is the individual fake? Recently, Britney Spears has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Yahoo music news columnist Ben Gilbert writes, “Some fans say the star's been replaced by a male body double…” The source of this rumor is Britney’s new video “Till the world ends.” The uproar is because people obviously expect better. They expect Britney to dance, sing and act in her own videos. Who doesn't!
Why bring this up? In a media saturated world where role models are as much a creation of the Simon Cowell’s of this world, as they are the embodiment of persons’ hopes and dreams, young people have become jaded by the inauthentic. Susan Boyle on “The View” ) received both support and outrage from fans when she stopped her song “Holy Night”, half way through a live performance (Shepherd). The outrage came from fans, who felt cheated, the support from those who breathed a sigh of relief that Susan Boyle really sang the song!
What does this have to do with you youth work? Young people see enough of others who lack authenticity. They don’t want to see it in their youth worker. I think that youth leaders sometimes put themselves on pedestals. I know I certainly have in the past. I don’t mean that we think we’re perfect or better than others, but we feel a pressure to present a more perfect image of ourselves than is actual reality. We may not change our clothes to present a false identity, but we espouse Biblical and cultural truths without talking through our own personal struggles with these truths.
It is one thing to know that God hates lies; it’s another to explain how we may have stumbled in this area recently. It is quite another thing entirely to take a young person on a physical journey with you so that they are standing right next to you when the chance to lie arises. What will you do? How will you act? You talk about using your money to glorify God, how do you spend it? Why do you spend it that way? Is loving others something you’re paid to talk about or do you really love your wife and kids? When you go to the mall or Best Buy what do you browse through? There will always be some doubt about you in the mind of a young person, until they have seen your life through your eyes; warts, failings and all.
Works Cited
Jenß, Heike. "Dressed in History: Retro Styles and the Construction of Authenticity in Youth Culture."Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture 8.4 (2004): 387-403. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 15 Apr. 2011.
Gilbert, Ben. “How New tunes, this weeks hottest tracks” Is Britney a Man. 8 Apr. 2011. Web.
