A fascination with the superficial: Why aren't scientific careers greatly desired by most of todays youth?

I walk through my local newsagents, and leisurely scan the dozens of magazines laid out on a shelf in front of me. As I look, a range of different titles travel past my eye-line, and almost all seem to have identical content. "So and so has started dating so and so". "This actress has released a new set of makeup products". "Has so and so recently had breast surgery?" "Mr and Mrs whatever are naming their new born child so and so" (usually something unnecessary and ridiculous).

 As a fan of the fantastic "New Scientist magazine", I find it takes me quite a while to find the latest copy under the piles of glossy, frothy literature that offers information on celebrity gossip, fashion tips and shock horror stories; hardly information worth reading about. And yet here they are in their dozens, filling up the shelves of my local store, as well as hundreds of thousands of other stores all around the globe; any reading material of true worth being smothered and mostly overlooked.

This is one reason why I believe the majority of todays youth seem to have less interest in scientific subjects. The excessive flurry of useless, superficial and frankly shit information.

This flurry of shit does not end with reading material of course, as most will be aware of the many programmes on television that also provides this service. From "Keeping up with the Kardashians", Geordie, and Jersey Shore, "The only was is Essex", and anything including Katie Price, as well as many, many others fill the tv screens of millions and giving todays youth a clear message; menial subjects are important as hell. The specific makeup you wear is vital. The jacket worn by Beyonce looks so fantastic, you must get one. Unless you spend almost all of your time getting drunk and dancing, rather than reading the ancient and redundant construct known as a book, your life is of little value.


A characteristic that most scientific appreciators portray is an awareness of the world around them, and what issues need to be addressed. A lover of physics is aware of the importance Space Exploration will bring to our understanding of the universe. A lover of genetics is aware of the future implications gene therapy will have in combatting disease caused by mutations in the DNA, and Zoology lovers are aware of how necessary the Amazon Rainforest is at staving off the threat of catastrophic climate change. A lover of shows such as Geordie Shore, and of superficial and irrelevant magazines, is aware of Iggy Azaleas nude pictures, or of Nikki Minaj's wardrobe do's and don't, leading to young people ignoring the threats science must address and the things it can achieve, and paying attention to the minor, and the meaningless, and the stupid.

It seems unlikely that scientists went into their profession to earn money. I mean, unless you are a tenured professor, or a successful scientific writer /communicator, the big bucks are going to be firmly out of your grasp. And in a society rife with celebrity gossip and the fashion obsessed, careers with the salaries scientific jobs pay are not going to be greatly desired by modern youth.

Out of the many existing reality programmes, many are based on the lives of the wealthy, portraying them sunbathing on the beaches of Spain, driving expensive cars, and having otherwise "wonderful" lives. And these youth, attracted to the ideas of being able to afford such extravagant commodities, will aim for careers that will hopefully make them as much money as possible. A mentality skewed towards items seems to have become of greater value to todays youth, over the much more selfless aim to improve and learn about the world around them. But then again the majority of the celebrity icons that surround us today rarely seem to show any form of altruism, so it is to be expected that their many fans develop similar characteristics.

Today there exist a wide array of science based documentaries appearing on our television screens. From Neil deGrasse Tyson's modern reboot of "Cosmos", to the awe-inspiring documentaries of Sir David Attenborough, a drop of knowledge can be found in the long stretching river of viscous ignorance. Social media pages such as "Scibabe", and "Tysonism" (two of my personal favourites), work to spread scientific information, while scrutinising the less refutable claims of others, allowing the young people brought up on the mainstream non-sensical to discover the wonders of knowledge and logical thinking. And magazines can be found in most stores that contain science-based articles (if you dig hard enough). Magazines such as "Scientific American" and "BBC Wildlife magazine". However in my opinion, this is not enough, and people must have scientific concepts, ideas and news laid out in front of them by the media in great force; much like the sexual exploits of Kim Kardashian seems to be laid out in front of our faces, although hopefully with less depressingly desperate, attention seeking visuals.

Our planet, with its ever increasing ideas, discoveries, and threats in dire need of confrontation, deserves to be inherited by humans beings that are intelligent enough, logical enough, and forward thinking enough, to allow scientific knowledge and innovation to increase and prosper for millennia to come. And by cultivating a scientific mindset in our youth, these future millenniums could be truly incredible.


-Thomas Glen
Facebook.com/goodnaturepage




Images: Not mine