I used to be O.K. with Lindsay Lohan. I enjoyed her movie Mean Girls. I felt she had a lot more honesty in her acting than a lot of other young actresses at the time. Or I guess she was just a lot more likeable than most recent batch of the teen-scream market. I lip-synced to Britney Spears with the rest of America when her first single “Hit Me Baby One More Time” came out. I showed a vague enough interest in Paris Hilton to click on whatever news headline she made during the course of her daily bloopers. I have had my share of this pop cultural addiction. I have taken these girls into my life. I accepted them, even when they did really stupid things. I was humored by their displays of public indecency.

But now I just feel sorry for these girls. I can’t ever read the newspaper, or do anything really, without hearing about Paris Hilton and her social life and her jail time, Lindsay Lohan going to rehab, Britney Spear’s breakdown at the OK! Magazine photo shoot. Not surprisingly, people are pretty freaked out on the impression these young women have on their very large, very young fan base. Which is understandable, celebrities do have a scary influence on today’s society.

The whole thing is just crazy. These girls are only in their twenties and they have been arrested, gone to jail, rehab and had their lives played out on every tabloid cover from here to Never-Never Land. Over exposure probably has a double-sided effect too. If the general population is influenced by what these young ladies do, imagine how their own actions are affecting them – mentally.

This Friday, OK! Magazine’s story on Britney Spear’s very strange photo shoot hits stands. Her most recent ‘socialite scandal’ has shaken the concerned adult commentary machine from its long slumber. In this case, the concerned adults are part of the religious league conscious population who are worried that these starlets acting out creates a negative example for young people. They feel parents need to know and understand how to prevent their children from mirroring these same habits. That goal is totally understandable. I don’t think many adults like the idea of their kids running around, getting DUI’s, going into rehab and doing a wide range of other things parents get jittery over.

I can’t imagine living like that. I can’t imagine surviving a life like that. I’m Lindsey Lohan’s age and I still feel like I’m an emotion-crazed teenager – I can only imagine what’s going on in her head. To be a mass marketing icon must take a little bit of your soul along for the ride, not to mention cause some possible irreversible damage to your career.

As much as I hate the hype that these girls get for all their strange behavior I do feel really sorry for them. Everyone goes through rough patches in their lives, celebrity or otherwise. That’s the price you pay for celeb-status. Sad, but true.
—Eming Piansay