The Perception of Idols: Intergenerational Differences (the case of Moscow Residents Born in 1968-1973 and 2001-2003)

Human need for a reference point exists from immemorial times. Idols as one of such role model play an especially important role, greatly influencing people’s personality, shaping views and behavior patterns. In comparison to previous generations, the choice of idols has changed: fame availability, new celebrities and channels of choosing, which also may translate anti-patterns of behavior. While researchers mainly pay attention to who are becoming idols today, less is known about how people make their choice, particularly on which criteria is it based. The aim of this study is to identify people’s perception of their idols by conducting a two-stage quantitative research. The data collected from a non-random available sample allowed us to test our hypothesis that there are differences between age and gender groups, and between people with different systems of values. As a result, three-dimensional space was obtained. The data showed that there are differences in the perception of idols between generations, as well as between young people of both gender.