Well, the thing is, some of them might not know it consciously,
they just do it without knowing why.
Regarding your question on whether young people are able to use
them as role models, this would depend on situations and we just
need to learn from mistakes. There is no running away from chance.
I'm basing on the actuarial approach, the chances of success are
increased if you learn from others' mistakes but it does not mean
we don't fail.
More digression...Regarding the men's and women's roles in modern
society, the biggest cover up in history is not Da Vinci's
code.
The fact is that we have about three generations of men raised by
women on how to become men. During the agriculture era, sons had
the chance to work along the fields with fathers, uncles and
brothers. This male bonding allowed boys to become men. When
industrialisation came, fathers were seldom at home, leaving boys
in the care of mothers. So, mothers now educate sons to be the kind
of men based on women's perspective - nice, sensitive, etc. And
then in schools, boys are taught to please women - because most
teachers are women. With all these conditionings, we can see how
these lead to more and more sensitive new-age guys ("nice"
guys).
Young people of the current generation probably have a lot more
choices now than before. This causes even more confusion because
now, we have so many different ideas on how relationships should
work. These days, we all want quick-fix. Learn Java in 24 hours,
Get Rich Instantly, How to Win Friends and Influence People,
etc...
Aunt Agony is an example 
Ah, mental diarrhoea 
