Who teens look up to — and why it matters

An athlete on both lists

In Piper Sandler's Fall 2025 Taking Stock With Teens survey of 10,969 US teens, with an average age of 15.7, LeBron ranked second among both favourite celebrities and favourite influencers. Adam Sandler topped the celebrity list; MrBeast topped the influencer list. LeBron was the only person in both published top-five lists.

The survey's headline results focus on upper-income teens, so they shouldn't be treated as the views of every teenager.

That overlap is interesting. An athlete can be a celebrity, a creator and a role model at the same time. It doesn't tell us why teens chose him. But it made me think about what it means to look up to someone — and what happens when admiration becomes a starting point for doing something yourself.

Connection still matters

The research doesn't suggest that teens want to walk away from social media altogether.

In Pew Research Center's April 2025 report, based on a 2024 survey of US teens aged 13–17, 48% of US teens said social media has a mostly negative effect on people their age, up from 32% in 2022. Yet 74% said it makes them feel more connected to their friends, and 63% said it gives them a place to show their creative side.

Those findings can sit together. You can value your friends and enjoy sharing what you make while still questioning how social media fits into your life.

The same report found that 20% of teen girls said social media hurt their confidence, compared with 10% of boys.

For me, the question isn't whether young people should be online or offline. It's how we make more room for the connection and creativity they already value.

Shared interests can become shared experiences

Sport offers one way to think about that connection.

Strava's 2025 Year in Sport report found that clubs on its platform nearly quadrupled in number, while running clubs grew 3.5 times. In its survey, Gen Z respondents were 39% more likely than Gen X respondents to say they use fitness to meet people who share their interests.

These findings come from Strava activity data and a separate survey. They aren't a measure of teens as a whole, or proof that young people have replaced scrolling with sport. But they offer a useful example of a shared interest becoming something people do together.

A running club starts with running. It can also become the people you meet on a Saturday morning, the person who notices your progress, or the friend who gets you out the door.

That's what interests me about sport — and about music, art or any other shared pursuit. The activity gives people a reason to connect. Turning up gives that connection somewhere to grow.

A role model is a starting point. A mentor is a relationship.

Looking up to someone can open up a possibility: perhaps I could try that too.

A mentor offers something different. Someone you can ask how they started, what went wrong, and what they would do differently.

Hello Sunshine's 2025 The Gen Z Rewrite report, developed with YPulse and Être, surveyed 1,000 US girls aged 13–18. Girls who reported having a mentor were more likely than those without one to describe themselves as confident (87% versus 69%), optimistic about their future (90% versus 78%) and comfortable asking for help (92% versus 57%).

That doesn't prove mentorship caused those differences. But it is a useful reason to take mentorship seriously — and to ask how more young people can find support from someone a few steps ahead.

A role model doesn't have to be a world-famous athlete. It might be an older teammate, an artist in your community, a coach or someone who remembers what it felt like to be starting out.

Why we're making the Tribela Mentor Podcast

At Tribela, we're building a place to share real moments and meet people through what you care about. No filters. No public popularity scores. A space for connection, not a competition over who looks most impressive.

The Tribela Mentor Podcast grows out of that same idea.

We've started filming conversations with young athletes, founders, artists, creators and changemakers about how they started, who helped them and what they would tell someone just getting going. Paralympic champion Danielle Dorris is among the guests joining us.

I want to hear about the work behind the achievement: the early starts, the setbacks, the people who helped, and the decision to try again.

A podcast isn't a substitute for a mentor who knows you personally. But an honest conversation can make a path feel more understandable — and give someone the confidence to ask their first question or take their first step.

Someone to look up to. Somewhere to start.

The research doesn't tell us that influencers are over. MrBeast still tops Piper Sandler's influencer list, and plenty of creators make things that matter to their audiences.

What it gives us is a reason to look beyond fame alone. Who helps a young person see what's possible? Who makes the work behind an achievement visible? Who helps them feel they have somewhere to begin?

That's the conversation I want us to have at Tribela.