Before I go on to say the Kardashians themselves are the downfall of this generation, let me first say that the Kardashians do possess a very coveted quality– they have fiscal success. The Kardashians are effective entrepreneurs– from clothing and shoe lines, perfume scents, makeup products, TV shows, and socks, they truly will endorse anything that will bring them a profit. In fact, it’s estimated the Kardashian-Jenner net worth is somewhere around $192 million. Clearly, they’ve mastered the art of marketing.

However, it is their message–the one that is constantly spread, advertised and idolized– that is the downfall of this generation.

All the women in the Kardashian-Jenner family wield incredible amounts of influence and power (and not to mention money), yet they fail to do anything constructive with it.

Using the Kardashian iPhone game (the 5th most popular downloaded app ever from the App Store) as an example, the Kardashians have the ability to reach out to thousands of youths forming their view of the world. They have power to reach an audience that is in a crucial point in their development (did I mention collectively they have over 93 million Instagram followers?), and they use this power to market an iPhone game in which girls can be a model with a “hot boyfriend” and “stylish clothes”.

Their message is that sex sells: that being physically enticing is of utmost importance, being at the top of the social hierarchy is considered success, and being beautiful is reaching tens of thousands of likes on a selfie. As a matter of fact, Kylie Jenner’s selfies are averaging around 1.2 million likes on Instagram per self portrait. They push the idea that power comes in numbers: in waist size, in bank account balance, in Twitter followers or in Instagram likes– because that is what continues to bring them their fame.

But rather than saying beauty comes from within, that knowledge is the true currency in the world, or that independent women are strong women, they choose to market themselves as sex symbols (don’t let the occasional inspirational quote on one of their social media outlets fool you).

Remember Kim Kardashian’s #BreakTheInternet cover for Paper magazine? If not, it was a nude photo of her that some people have argued is a breakthrough for feminism. Some have gone as far as to label her as the “overlooked face of feminism”. Need we remind them, the exact definition of feminism is “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.” From what she’s shown us, Kim Kardashian is the antithesis of feminism.

With the growing momentum of the feminist movement, you’d think one of these seemingly omnipotent women might step up and take a stand for equality, but no such action has been taken.

The Kardashian’s infamous TV show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, has been airing for 10 years. That is a decade of people who have been not only entertained, but enticed and excited by watching the lives of these fame hungry starlets. And all they have to show for it is the already known fact that this family is desperate for more screen time.

Girls are buying what they’re selling, and the Kardashians are looking the other way as they mold a generation of girls into materialistic young women. With such influence, one would hope they would move to redefine beauty away from the physical definition, and instead towards “being beautiful” as having a good heart and a well trained mind.

But alas, the Kardashian-Jenner complex disappoints once again.

I do not criticize the success of the Kardashians (in fact, props to the Kardashians for being business owners that have taken full advantage of our capitalist economy), but my issue is with how they choose to portray that success. The Kardashians are not evil, but they are by no means saints. They are a missed opportunity for change, and a sad testament to what our youth considers to be an respectable role model. Sadly, honorable moral intentions are not going to show up on Kim or Kylie’s Instagram pages anytime soon.