Life throws at us many lessons everyday but one that stands out is “Value”. Over thousands of years mankind’s perception of value has changed and will continue changing but is it changing for the better or worse?
What is worth everything to you might be worth nothing to someone else, yet there has always been a joint consensus on somethings that people all agree have equal value. For example, clean air and water are two invaluable things generally accepted by everyone. It is logical. A human being can’t survive without both.
But tell me this, who is more valuable between Taylor Swift and the Engineers that ensures clean water and power safely reach you at home for consumption? Well the logical answer is the Engineers but the actual answer based on money earned by both parties, followers and popularity is Taylor Swift. Why?
There are several answers to that question but the most popular theory is mankind assigns such inconceivable value to celebrities and influencers because they give them the great escape. People are unhappy with the notion that they have to wake up work, go back to sleep, wake up again and work until one day they can’t and eventually end up in a retirement home. So they are attracted to the very public lives of these celebrities and influencers because it is the life them dream of having but might never have.
There are other reasons such as joy and happiness these celebrities and influencers bring us. How do they put it, “If you do what you love, you will never have to work a day in your life”. Well there aren’t a lot of people that fall within that category. Working 9-5 is hard, it requires commitment and dedication. Especially when people like these Engineers, Doctors, Mechanics, Cleaners and Plumbers don’t have a million followers on social media, don’t get paid like celebrities, don’t get the acknowledgment of celebrities and live their lives pretty much unseen and undervalued.
The new generation sees value only in the number of social media followers you have, or how popular you are. Everyone wants to be a content creator like Mr Beast, or a celebrity like Kim K., or a Rap artist or Musician or an Influencer. Kids used to want to be Doctors, Scientists, Engineers but that seems like a pipe dream for most now. They tell themselves, “Why should I work as a Water Engineer, doing a 9-5 job that pays $2k -$3k a month, when I can earn that money as an Influencer in one day.”
The stats show that the number of Doctors, Nurses and Engineers in the West have decreased over the last 100 years. This young generation wants to work less and earn more because that what they feel Celebrities and Influencers do. But that is a false reality. Actors act because that is their job, the larger their fan base the more acting gigs they get. They are not gods or beings to worship. They are not more valuable that Doctors, Nurses or Engineers. But that is the misconceived perception that has been put out on the internet and on social media.
It is absolutely true that an Engineer could work for 45 years and barely save $200,000 in retirement funds. While a footballer gets paid the same amount on a weekly basis. That is simply down to perceived value, not actual value. The footballer attracts fans and more fans means more money for the football club. Which is why some of them earn $200k a week because the football club as deemed them to be that valuable. While watching football and supporting a club makes us happy and creates a sense of belonging and community, humanity needs to start giving equal value to things that are actually important to our survival.
What happens if you can’t watch football for 6 months? You will probably seek another distraction or another community because you can, because it is in your control. But what happens if you don’t get water supplied to your home for 6 months? What happens if you don’t have power for 6 months? What happens if the bin collectors don’t collect your bins for six months? Don’t you think you have taken these things for granted. Don’t you think the value you have assigned to these things should be more?
The world doesn’t revolve around celebrities or Influencers. They are important to our happiness and mental health but are they more valuable than the people working 9-5 and gettting under paid to ensure you have water to drink, power and a clean environment to leave in? These people are undervalued and underappreciated by society. It is no wonder the younger generation don’t want to go to university or college or study Engineering or become Doctors. Why should they? It took COVID for the world to remember the sacrifices medical practitioners have been making for us over the last 200 years.
If mankind doesn’t start assigning value to where it is truly deserved, I fear in the next 50 years, we won’t have the manpower to provide clean water, power and medical services. It is not too late for the so called GEN Z to get their priorities right and the millennials to guide them in the right direction to what is true sustainable value.