Youths learn a lot from the celebrities that dot the pages of magazines. The celebrities themselves, being human, present both positive and negative aspects of their lives to the vulnerable youths who unwittingly accommodate and imitate them. When youths access media content, they could interpret this to suit their gullible dispositions. Considering the growing interest of Nigerian youths in these magazine features, it becomes necessary therefore, to examine how these celebrities are influencing the choices of career of Nigerian youths. This study made use of the survey method. National Youth Service Corps members in Ogun State, Nigeria were chosen purposively as the population based on the assumption that they are at the stage of taking a final decision on what career they want to choose. Findings revealed that Nigerian youths admire and consider magazine celebrities as successful people. It was also observed that the youths desire to be like the personalities they admire. It was further discovered that these youths make deliberate efforts to be like their admired celebrities. This research also shows that the personalities that are most admired by Nigerian youths are Business Moguls. Based on the findings, the study recommends that print media houses should deliberately introduce a balance in the categories of celebrities they feature since most of these have effects on the people who read them especially young people. Furthermore, the media houses should be careful not to celebrate negative aspects of a personality’s life.

Youths learn a lot from the celebrities that dot the pages of magazines. The celebrities themselves, being human, present both positive and negative aspects of their lives to the vulnerable youths who unwittingly accommodate and imitate them. When youths access media content, they could interpret...