Young Hollywood

Hollywood seems to be getting younger and younger...at least to me. Every day in tabloids, teen magazines, online blogs, and even the news, a promising young "teeny bopper" is introduced.

The most popular teen queen of the moment is Hannah Montana, a.k.a. Miley Cyrus. Within the past six months, the young performer's popularity has risen dramatically. Tickets for her Best of Both Worlds tour were selling for thousands of dollars a pop! She was also featured on the cover of USWeekly's latest issue.

However, Hollywood's latest teen idols aren't just known for their innocence. Recently, pictures of Miley Cyrus allegedly sharing a lollipop with another young girl surfaced on the internet. Just weeks later, more pictures of Miley posing provocatively in her underwear caused uproar.

My question is: Is the pressure of the spotlight driving these teenagers into danger? For instance, Lindsay Lohan was the epitome of innocent. Now, a mere five years later, she's been in and out of rehab, labeled a "party girl" and so on. Also, Britney Spears' fall from grace (which, I'm sure, needs no explanation) has largely been blamed on the pressures of the spotlight.

Is the media exploiting these children, or are their parents? Is the money too much too fast for them? Are our expectations too high for these young kids? Do they pose "naked" and then find the pictures on the internet accidentally? These teens are being exposed to drugs, alcohol, and sex much sooner than others...and it's all at their fingertips and easily accessible. In short, is the media's insistence on maintaining their innocence encouraging this behavior? On the contrary, should they be held responsible for their own actions?

As Hollywood hunks and starlets get younger and younger, how does this affect our media society? Lastly, is this decrease in the average age of idols healthy for ordinary children and should they really be looking up to these stars?

It seems as though these teen queens may be acting rebellious strictly for the attention. I also wonder if they think that this is what the world really wants to see...I have a nine-year-old sister who loves Hannah Montana, and I worry that she will be heartbroken if she learns that her idol isn't quite so peachy-clean.