Let’s face it – it is hard to deny that those in the public light live extravagant, glamorous lives. I am sure most of us would not have a difficult time accepting the offer to become famous overnight. Although, remembering that living in the public eye entails constant paparazzi stalking, harsh public scrutiny and the spreading of ridiculous rumors might make us think twice before trading in our ordinary, non-famous lives.
As college students, these are the years where we are expected to make mistakes and grow as individuals. Fortunately for any slipups made on our part, we are able to shrug them off and learn from them. Nowadays, what seems to be the main focus is young stars who are desperately trying to grow and mature while in the spotlight. Stars such as Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber are constantly having their every move analyzed and criticized by the public. In today’s society, it seems that audiences are more engaged and some may even call it obsessed, with the daily lives of stars.
Let’s rewind to three weeks ago at MTV’s “Video Music Awards.” What seems to continue to be the topic of conversation is Miley Cyrus’ risqué performance during the awards show. Some may say the media is fixating way too much on Miley’s recent image and inappropriateness. As a “Hannah Montana” fan, I was also in shock at what took place during that awards show, but I moved on. I feel the media is spending too much time focusing on the shocking performance. At the end of the day, Miley Cyrus is a young twenty-year old woman who is trying to shed her Disney image and mature as an artist. I am not a fan of the direction she is going in, but those are her choices. In an interview clip a few days after the VMA’s, Miley said it best herself, “What’s amazing is, we’re three days later and people are still talking about.”
Whatever the reasoning was behind Miley’s raunchy performance, one thing for sure is that she definitely got people talking. A few hours after the VMA’s, Instagram spoofs, Twitter rants, and internet headlines were all outraging over Miley Cyrus.
From my observations, it is not necessarily the actions these young stars are taking, it is more about who. Justin Bieber has also recently been sharing headlines with Miley, with his recent outbursts with the paparazzi, surfaced pictures of him and friends smoking illegal substances, and his outlandish style.
I know these young stars provide juicy gossip and material for celeb bloggers to tweet about, but when is the line drawn for the media to back off with the constant scrutiny and backlash on these stars’ actions? Non-famous people, including myself, are prone to make reckless, impulsive decisions all the time and are forced to face the consequences that come with these actions. The only difference between us and Miley or Justin is that our actions will not be broadcasted on E! News the following night.
Aside from the continuous criticism faced by the young stars, rumors are also experienced on a daily basis. With numbers of followers on Twitter in the millions, social media is used as a tactic for stars to reach out to their fans and express their feelings about the truth. Getting fed up with the tabloids, Bieber turned to his followers to express his recent frustrations, “Interesting how some people in the media wanna take shots at me for no reason. All good. Keeping it positive over here. All about the music,” wrote Bieber. I guess social media does provide some good for celebrities.
I know when I hear crazy rumors about my favorite celebrities, Twitter is one of the first places I turn to hear the truth from the celebrity themselves.
Although all of the negative press is expected and does go along with the territory when being in the public eye, I think as a whole, our society should stop obsessing and fixating on the actions of stars trying to mature in the spotlight. We need to give them room to grow and be able to learn from mistakes, to not repeat the same ones because in reality, they are humans just like us.
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