Let me say this before I mention anything else. I love and like kids. They engender in me the instinct of protection. Nothing I say in this article will reflect in any way on the kids but is directed on society as a whole.
Now that it's out of the way, WTF are we thinking? Have there not been enough case studies and statistics showing what effects of being in the public eye has on those who are still developing not only physically, but also emotionally, mentally and socially? And those are the kids with actual talent who are promoting careers, not the hot messes that are put on display to be ridiculed. Have we not seen what "reality TV" has done to grown-ups who supposedly have the emotional and mental capacity (although that's debatable) to withstand the pressures of being in the limelight for no reason at all?
How could anyone think that throwing kids into the spotlight of reality TV would even remotely turn out well for them? That's a double strike against them even before they pick up the bat. And for what? So we can sit back, with a bowl of popcorn and laugh at them? Or feel morally superior? Or what? What is the purpose of us tuning in?
The networks are making money, hand over fist. The parents are either ensuring their kids' futures if they're responsible or unwisely squandering the money that their little cash cows make. But what about the public? What does this say about us as a society that not only condones but participates gleefully in child exploitation for the purposes of "entertainment"?
Let's slap some make-up and skimpy outfits on these kids and pressure them into participating in adult activities. Let's put kids in highly stressful situations, pump them up with "Go Go Juice" filled with sugar and caffeine so they can perform like untrained monkeys. In whose mind is this a good thing?
How can we live in a society that claims to protect its young yet at the same time condones this public ridicule and mismanagement of kids' development? I just. Don't. Get. It.
Adults have the right to make decisions about their lives and their futures. Adults have the right to sign up for making themselves public spectacles. Adults have the right (forgive my language) to fuck up their lives. What they do not have is the right to tank children's lives. That's when Child Services gets called in, not when interviews get booked. We use the fact that children love attention, as a rule, and will gladly, unknowingly, follow the adults in their lives to the brink of destruction and beyond. And we sit back and laugh! Who's protecting those kids? We should be ashamed that we live in a society that thinks it entertaining to shove kids into situations that they are not capable of handling.
I say "we" out of politeness. I for one do not support these shows. I don't care what the parents do with the money, how many trust funds they start and how many charities they support. This is damaging their kids in the process. We can dress this up in any way to justify the exploiters and the supporters of these shows, but the fact remains that we might as well sit back and watch our neighbor's kid get beaten while we chomp on popcorn and Junior mints. It's sick and twisted; and it needs to stop.
Stay tuned.
