The art of becoming

What we take from society now dictates how we will approach the future. We need time to discover who we have become as young adults, and to test and control our emotions. As teens we analyse our reactions and relationships with others and learn self-correction, as well as developing our own opinions and beliefs.

However, how can we mature and develop as individuals when we are constantly bombarded with confusing and contradictory media ideals? They dictate the brand labels we must wear to be accepted by the 'crowd' and the gaunt models shimmying down catwalks scream how we must look. Materialism has permeated nearly every aspect of society, from our schools to our local communities. Nowadays, the name on our tee-shirt dictates how others perceive us. I abhor the shallow attitude of modern culture that seems to equate self-image with self-worth. Years ago, the most instantaneous means of displaying ones individuality was by cultivating ones appearance with uniqueness. However, the frenzied attacks by Nike, Reebok, Gap, Ralph Lauren and Burberry have seen our personal spaces merging. These edges seem to blur as we all try to follow the same brand, trying to look the same, think the same and react the same as the 'celebrities' on our screens.

Teenage magazines are as much to blame as the Internet and phone companies etc for attacking our personal space. In an age where government surveillance is unquestionable, it is outrageous that teen magazines still go unmonitored. 'Ten top tips to get him into bed' and 'How to dress to please your partner' totally undermine all that our nation of 'independence' stands for. What message are we promoting to our young people regarding originality and distinctiveness? Did the suffragettes achieve their goals clad in Prada? Did Martin Luther King sell his 'dream' on eBay?

Yet Oscar Wilde noted that:
"To be in society is a bore, but to be out of it is simply a tragedy.''

In our formative years we need company to learn skills from each other, although often these skills may lead us to conform. In some factions of society we see young people that try so hard to defy the 'norm', such as 'Goths', that they inadvertently categorise themselves through their extremism. Asserting our personal space does not mean that we must segregate ourselves from society. By contrast, personal space allows use to develop and decipher our daily experiences. We learn that we can be secure and confident in being alone with our thoughts; indeed, this is a sign of maturity. Each one of us is the most important person in our world. Why then, do we so often ignore ourselves, and permit ourselves to be violated by the technology that we should use to our advantage? If you do not own a mobile phone, or engage in mindless web chats etc, you are the puppeteer; there are no strings attached. Why should we be constantly accessible to others? Endeavour to make time out for yourself; we should not be connected to someone else's fingertips.

I thereby urge our young people to switch off the mobile, kick the macrobiotic diet and ditch Dior. Often our thick mask of materialism and dependence on the contact of others clouds our better judgement. We don't have to go out every weekend to be popular. It's not a crime to do well at school. As the future generation, we have the responsibility to stop living as everyone else expects us to, and learn how to be confident as ourselves-but one needn't think that we have to 'go it alone'. Indeed, who better to have on our side but God? Now that's a double act to challenge any pop duo in the charts.

Amy Mulvenna
February 2006

Main Menu

CatholicIreland.net News

CatholicIreland.net Features