Rebuttal For Elijah

The topic of child stars and more specifically, their behavior, has become open for scrutiny in popular media. With young actors and musicians like Miley Cyrus, Justin Beiber, and Selena Gomez acting in shows and singing songs that are marketed towards a younger audience there has been a lot of question as to how they should present themselves. Elijah has formed an opinion that is much different from my own, he said:

Young stars should hold themselves to a higher standard of living because the are supposedly kids role models, i am not saying that they should give up their live but they should try to act a little classy.

 I do not think that these actors and actresses should be expected to act like anything other than what they are- teenagers. I think that the media is to blame for the exploitation of these young individuals, rather than the actors and musicians themselves. The teenage years are the time where adolescents are supposed to be able to make mistakes and learn from them as a part of the journey into adulthood. These young celebrities do not have the same ability to learn from their mistakes and just be kids because they are constantly under the public eye.

These children are not able to have a normal childhood because they have to be fearful of how they will be portrayed in the media. I do not think that putting children in the spotlight in this way is healthy and it has been proven time after time that it does not result in well-adjusted adults. For instance, look at stars like Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, and Lindsey Lohan. They all had to grow up in front of the public eye, throughout their childhood they were criticized for their appearance, actions, and career choices.

It is in the nature of adolescents To rebel and make mistakes and when they are under a magnifying glass like the young stars of today, their negative choices (that are typical for teens to make) become known by the young children who watch their shows and listen to their music. I think it is wrong that we blame these teenagers for the way that they are portrayed in the media because at the end of the day, they are teenagers who are still learning and growing.