CHINA / Regional
Entrepreneurs are students' real idols
By Xu Jitao (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-11-08 06:49
SHANGHAI: Successful entrepreneurs have surpassed pop stars as college
students' idols, a recent Fudan University survey has found.
In the survey, which sampled 150 students from different grades and
departments in September and October, 96 chose successful entrepreneurs
as their idols, 91 added scientists and scholars to the list, while only
some 75 opted for stars of stage and screen.
The results toppled the old perception that young college students are
most impressed by the stars of shows such as Supergirl Competition.
Considering the extraordinary lengths many student fans go to to generate
support for TV talent show stars, such as parading in the street with
placards promoting their favourites, the results come as a surprise.
Fudan's students seemed not to be influenced too much by popular TV shows
and new stars, despite the latest Supergirl, Shang Wenjie having
graduated from the university last year.
"It's normal for students to have traditional ideas about the qualities
an idol should have they think of idols as people who have made a great
contribution to society. These kinds of ideas aren't easily changed by TV
shows," said Zhen Zhiwei, a second-year post-graduate student who
conducted the survey.
But students do have new standards for selecting idols. Some students
voted for ordinary people and even fictional characters, such as Harry
Potter.
"It reveals the diversity of students' standards," Zhen said. "Under the
influence of pop culture, some students now view fictional figures as
their idols. They see the same qualities in those fictional figures as in
other real people.
"We are also delighted to see that more and more students are concerned
with the roles ordinary people play in society. Wealth, social status and
fame are not the only standards they use to select idols."
The survey also revealed that most college students do not want to be
idols for others. According to the survey, 57 per cent of students do not
want to be idols.
"The result can be regarded as a good illustration for why most of them
choose successful entrepreneurs and scholars as their idols," said Zhen.
"They have high expectations for idols, so they believe that to be an
idol means having to take on more responsibilities and pressure than
other people, and they are not ready to take so much responsibility yet."
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