A Study on the Effect That Idols Have on Students Fu Szu-Wei 傅思惟 Chen Yi-Jiun 陳怡君 Taipei Nanhu Senior High School Class 205 0/20
I. Introduction The effect that idols have on their fans can be so powerful that the fans want to become the idols themselves. For example, there is a guy who loves Andy Lau very much. In order to make himself look more like his idol, he spent 20 thousand dollars on plastic surgery to transform his face into Andy Lau s face. This new Andy Lau looks like the real one. Moreover, he has performed as Andy for many years. ( 1.) In this information age, it s hard to resist new kwledge and popular culture. More and more new idols and TV programs are popping up. Millionstar ( 超級星光大道 ) and American program American Idol are good examples. Almost everyone rushes home on Friday night to watch Millionstar. Most teenagers these days have their own idols and have a crush on them. Fans spend a lot of money and time on their favorite idols. Do living habits change because of these idols? How do these idols affect teenagers lives? By handing out questionnaires to junior high school students, we try to study the relationship between their lives and their idols. We also try to discuss the effects idols have and the advantages and disadvantages of such effects introduced into the popular culture. Decide Analyze the Find Do a and Conclusion topical books survey Write subject results 1/20
II. Thesis Our lives are filled with idols and TV programs. Nowadays, more and more new idols appear on TV. A. Idols According to the book 追星與粉絲 (page 9), there are four types of idols. Pure idols, Model-like idols, Idol-like models and Pure models. Well-kwn people Pure idols Famous singers, movie stars and sport star. Model-like idols Successful and distinguished people in society. Unkwn people Idol-like models Normal people who have star quality. Pure models Relatives and friends that teenagers can imitate. ( 2) The idol we focus on here is Pure idol. Pure idols are people who are popular and usually show up on some activities. They can be movie stars, singers or TV stars. They generally have their own talents. Take Jacky Chen for example; he is very good at acting. Besides, some of the idols become famous because of their good looks. Idols are usually invited to be spokesperson and have lots of fans. There are some reasons why idols are so popular. First, they have their own talents. Second, they may have a good appearance that attracts people. The most important of all, they must be very confident on TV. They cant be afraid of making contact with their fans. That s why many teenagers like to go to the concert to see their idols. B. What is idol worship? Many people regard idol adoration as an entertainment. According to the book 追星與粉絲 (page 42), fans often write letters, imitate their idols, dress up, and collect idols personal data, join clubs and so on. They use this way to worship their idols. On the other hand, some teenagers need these idols to help themselves kw who they are. Also, these teenagers are often described as independent, crazy or blind. ( 3.) C. Influences Idols affect teenagers in many aspects. Idols show up on TV, in magazines or some newspapers. They influence teenagers fashion, lifestyle, and food habits and so on. For instance, teenagers would buy the products that their idols recommend in the 2/20
magazines. a. The positive influences that idols give According to the book called 追星與粉絲 (page 189), a magazine called " 中國大學生就業 " did a survey about the influences that idol worship gives to university students. The topic is When do idols give you positive influence? 50% chose frustration, 24% chose self-reflection, 14% chose career planning, 6%chose motivation to learn, and 10% chose others. ( 4.) This survey shows that idols do provide some influence on their fans. picture1 14% 6% 10% frustration 46% self-reflection career planning motivation to learn 24% others b. The negative influences that idol give (1) Teenagers are young, so their thoughts are still immature and unstable. They may be curious about idols. Sometimes if they go too far, they would lose their mind. In the news, a girl committed suicide because her mother didn t let her to buy her idol s CD. If they worship their idols too much, they may refuse to live in their real lives and have unrealistic minds. ( 5.) III. Results of our questionnaires We divide those questionnaires into two groups, male and female. Then we collected the 90 questionnaires from junior high school students. Q1. Who is your favorite idol? female male 3/20
students and their idols' sex 33% 21% 4% 42% male-male male-female female-female female-male (2) According to the pie chart, we discover that most of the boys idols are male. On the other hand, females idols can be male or female. Q2. Will you buy the products about him (her)? 39% 61% (3) 4/20
Q3. Do you have any products that your idol produces? Yes, No Consider about price products 57% 43% (4) consider about products 51% prices 49% prices products (5) More than half students have their idols products. Nevertheless, less than half students have products that their idols produce. After all, the products idols speaking on do t have direct relations with idols, so students will consider the prices and what the products are to decide whether to buy it or t. 5/20
Q4. Will you buy the products he (she) promotes? Yes, Why? No 48% 52% (6), why? 60% 7% 33% useful speak by idols others (7) Half the students will buy the products that their idols speak on. However, most of them buy the products simply because it s promoted by their idols, t because they are useful. 6/20
Q5. I ve spent on the most expensive thing that my idol promoted. For. 11% 12% 44% 0 1~500 500~1000 13% 20% 1000~2000 2000up (8) for 30% 43% 7% 3% 10% 7% CDs books posters concerts magazines others (9) spent NT$1~1000 for 9% 23% 14% 9% 45% CDs books posters magazines others (10) 7/20
spent NT$2000up for 49% 13% 38% CDs concerts others (11) More than half students spent money on their idols. Almost 50% students did t spend any money on their idols. 20% students spent more than NT$ 2,000. It shows two opposing extremes. They either don t spend money on their idols or spend a lot. As for those who bought the products, most of them spent money on CDs. Besides, those who spent more than NT$ 2000 are for the concerts. Q6. Will you go standing in line for his (her) concert/ products at nights? Yes No, Why? 88% 12% (12) 8/20
reasons 43% 8% cram school 31% homework parents 18% others (13) Most students won t stand in line for products and concerts at nights. According to figure12, the main reasons why students won t go out at nights are that their parents won t allow them to or they have to go to cram school. Q7. Will you watch the show that your idol appears in however late it is? Yes No, Why? 55% 45% (14) 9/20
why 33% 7% 11% 49% parents cram school homework others (15) Less than half the students will watch the show that their idols appears in however late it is. It s because most of the students have to do their homework and go to cram school. It shows that teenagers have some other pressure, so they can t spend too much time on idols. Q8. Have you ever attended a TV program or activity that your idol appears in? Yes No, Why? 71% 29% (16) 10/20
why 31% 3% parents 14% cram school do homework 30% too shy 22% others (17) Most of the students haven t attended TV programs or activities. The main reason is that they are too shy to show up on TV and they have to go to cram school. Q9. Will you change your habits because of your idol? 76% 24% (18) Most students won t change their habits because of their idols. It shows that students have their own lives and habits. Idols have little influence on students in this area. 11/20
Q10. Will you buy the same accouterments that your idol has? 65% 35% (19) consider about products 72% prices 28% prices products (20) It shows that more than half students won t spend money on those accouterments. This is related to how much pocket money they have and what the things are. 12/20
Q11. Will you cut the same hair style that your idol has? Yes No, Why? 49% 51% (21) why 32% 4% 64% stylish fits your own style others (22) Most students won t change their habits into the same as their idols. Two thirds of the students won t buy the same accouterments that their idols have. They have to consider whether the price and the products are proper for them or t. However, half of them will cut the same hair styles their idols have because it s stylish. 13/20
Q12. Will you try to become more like your idol s ideal mate? 47% 53% (23) Half of the students want to become their idols ideal mates. According to the pie chart 2, most of them are girls. Q13. Will you imitate saying the lines that your idol says in his/ her drama? 77% 23% (24) Almost 80% students won t imitate what their idols say in the drama. Q14. Have you ever argued with your family because of your idol? e.g. They don t let you go to the concert, but you insist to go. No Yes, because of A. spending too much money B. the influence of your schoolwork C. being in home too late for the concert 14/20
D. others 12% 88% (25) C 25% D 13% A 31% B 31% A B C D (26) Q15. If your family don t let you go to the concert. Will you insist? 72% 28% 15/20
(27) Most of the students don t argue with their parents about their idols. They won t insist on going to their idols concerts if their parents don t allow them to. It shows that parents have great influence on students. Besides, most of the arguments are because of the effects on students school work. Q16. If you can, do you want to be a star also? 59% 41% (28) Not everyone wants to be a star. It shows that students just want to have a entertainment. Q17. Do you think that chasing idols affects you? 29% 71% (29) Most students don t think they are influenced by those idols. It shows that they kw how to control themselves. 16/20
Q18. What do you think about idol effects? Is it good or bad to you? Bad 21% Good 79% Good Bad (30) Most of the students think that their idols give them positive influences. IV. Conclusion The result is t as we expected. The students are more rational than we originally thought. Even if they spend money on their idols, lots of them won t spend more than NT$ 1000. It s good that they are t really crazy about their idols. They spend more time on their school work than chasing idols. Almost every student has their own idols, but they also have to do their schoolwork, go to cram school and listen to their parents. They cant spend all their time on idols. Some of them only can do some little things to support their idols, such as buying their idols CD, posters or some products that their idols promote. They buy those things rather than stand in line for concerts at night. This survey tells us that in this generation, teenagers kw how to make good use of their time. We do t think teenagers parents need to worry about their children being too crazy over their idols. Also, students have lots of pressure on schoolwork. Having an idol to worship is an entertainment and a way to relax. It s good for them to forget their schoolwork for a while. Students parents need t stop them from having an idol if they don t go too far. 17/20
V. References 1. 岳曉東追星與粉絲青少年偶像崇拜分析香港城市大學出版社 P.90 2. 岳曉東追星與粉絲青少年偶像崇拜分析香港城市大學出版社 P. 9-10 3. 岳曉東追星與粉絲青少年偶像崇拜分析香港城市大學出版社 P.42 4. 岳曉東追星與粉絲青少年偶像崇拜分析香港城市大學出版社 P.189 5. 岳曉東追星與粉絲青少年偶像崇拜分析香港城市大學出版社 P.194 VI. Questionnaire Boy Girl 1 2 3 grade 1. Who is your favorite idol? female male 2. Will you buy the products about him (her)? Yes No 3. Do you have any products that your idol produces? Yes No, Consider about price products 4. Will you buy the products he (she) promotes? Yes, because it s useful speaking by idols others No 5. I ve ever spent on the most expensive thing that my idol promoted, for (purpose) 6. Will you go standing in line for his (her) concert/ products at nights? Yes No, because of cram school homework parents others 7. Will you watch the show that your idol appears in however late it is? Yes No, because of parents cram school homework others 8. Have you ever attended a TV program or activity that your idol appears in? Yes No, because of parents cram school homework too shy others 9. Will you change your habits because of your idol? Yes No 10. Will you buy the same accouterment that your idol has? Yes No, consider about price products 11. Will you cut the same hair style that your idol has? Yes, because it s stylish fits your own style others No 12. Will you try to become more like your idol s ideal mate? Yes No 13. Will you imitate saying the lines that your idol says in his/her drama? Yes No 14. Have you ever argued with your family because of your idol? e.g. They don t let you go to the concert, but you insist to go. No Yes, because of spending too much money the influence of your schoolwork 18/20
being in home too late for the concert others 15. If your family don t let you go to the concert. Will you insist? Yes No 16. If you can, do you want to be a star also? Yes No 17. Do you think that chasing idols affects you? Yes No 18. What do you think about idol effects? Is it good or bad to you? Good Bad 19/20