Teen Idols

So while I personally do not have kids, I do have a 14 year old sister, and it floors me at some of the people she does or did see as an idol; the first person coming to my mind was Miley Cyrus.  Don't get me wrong, she is a very pretty and talented (depending on who you talk to) person, but it really seems like the past few years she has gone downhill.  She started out as "Hannah Montana" on the Disney Channel where she was a typical teenager with a not so typical secret; she was a superstar as well.  She kept this secret from everyone but her close friends and family.  Her career as Hannah Montana began to blossom and with that so did her popularity.  But it seems that as Destiny Hope Cyrus (yes, that is Miley's real name) hit the big times, she grew up a lot faster than our regular children do.  It seems that a lot of teen superstars are forced to grow up a lot quicker than usual.

Not long after her 18th birthday, a video of Miley on TMZ of her smoking Salvia from a bong.  I had no clue what Salvia even was, but according to WebMD, "an herb that some teens use for hallucinogenic properties."  The effects of Salvia has also been compared to LSD.  In the TMZ video, Miley is giggly and confused and keeps asking if a plant is dripping or if someone is her boyfriend.  These little girls look at her and see her smoking from a bong, does that mean they will want to do that too? Because if Miley does it, then she should be able to do it too? I'm sorry, but if I had a child, that is the last thing I would want them to look up to.

I'm not sure how much everyone out there knows about Miley's music videos but "Can't Be Tamed" and "Who Owns My Heart" are not appropriate for young audiences.  I don't even want my sister to see those. In her video "Can't Be Tamed" some of the lyrics are "For those who don't know me I can get a bit crazy. Have to get my way, yep 24 hours a day 'cause I'm hot like that," and "I go through guys like money flyin' out the hands They try to change me but they realize they can't."  I don't think little girls understand what they are singing about, but if Miley Cyrus can, they can too.

How can these acts be deemed appropriate for young girls? They are showing our girls that they can wear little clothing and be provocative and they will get everything they want in life.  It's false thinking and can be risky to these girls.  That's not the type of attention they should be attracting, especially at such young ages.  Apparently, some others are starting to agree with me.  According to the NY Daily News, Miley was named "Worst Celebrity Influence in 2010." These kinds of videos and actions are definitely going to make me more cautious when I become a parent to make sure that my children don't look to inappropriate actions as an idol.