When I was growing up, I remember when Michael Jackson and his moonwalk made young kids feint. I remember when the New Kids On The Block inspired screaming throngs of pre-pubescent girls to almost riotous behaviour. I also remember (barely I might add) the war between disco and rock ‘n’ roll culminating in the burning of disco records at Comiskey Park during a baseball game between the White Socks and the Detriot Tigers in 1979. But, something is different today. Initially I laugh and feel thankful that I’m much too old to get caught up is this sort of popstar worship. But then as I continue to witness incidents like the one I’m about to mention, I get concerned.
This week, I saw a series of YouTube videos on the topic of Justin Bieber. First off, let me say that I had only been aware of who he is for the last couple months. The series of videos were concerning two girls. One girl decided that she had grown tired of the tween popstar and wanted to rip down all the posters in her room. So she posted a YouTube video of her doing so. Sound harmless? Well, this is where things take a turn for the worst.
After her video circulated and Bieber fans (or ‘Beliebers’ as they call themselves) caught wind of the travesty, one girl decided to post her own video in response. She proceeds to spew the worst, most vulgar threats I have ever heard from someone under the age of 19. Naturally, she received a lot of ‘hate comments’ in response. Then, she posts another video where she seemingly has softened her tone.
Typically I don’t pay much attention to things like this because I can’t be bothered wasting my time when there are so many more important things going on in the world and in the country. But, this made me think…and I hope it makes you think too.
I don’t remember anyone using language or acting in such a violent way when I was a kid. Yeah, yeah….I know, I sound like that out of touch old guy. Sure, my parents would probably give me the same ‘what’s with the kids’ speech talking about my generation. The difference is this…kids were not threatening each other because they did or did not like a certain tv show or singer….at least not at that age.
So what’s happened? Well there’s a few things going on here. First of all, lets not be blind to the fact that popstars are all about money. Corporations are constantly seeking ways to tap into the disposable income of the 13-16 year old demographic. And so, the way in which these products are marketed encourages fanaticism. In fact, that just means more money! To not fit in mean certain social death.
Certainly though, no one is going out there telling these kids to act out in the ways in which you see in these videos. So where does this come from? Well, I’m just gonna give my two cents here. Justin Bieber is not a good parent. Nor is the television or Twitter or the Facebook page where your 13 year old daughter is posting nearly nude photos of herself. I wonder if this girl’s parents saw the video or are even aware that their daughter is an internet celebrity for all the wrong reasons.
Once again I’m gonna sound like an old fart here, but indulge me. There was once when I was just a bit younger than this girl. I was being babysat by a neighbour and she had taken me in to town to do some shopping. I had wandered off and when she found me she scolded me. I promptly told her she was an idiot. Needless to say, I got in a lot of trouble for speaking that way to an adult. I’m not sure what’s happened here but it scares me. I see kids killing each other, killing themselves, such vicious anger, sadness, and depression and I wonder what happened to innocence?
The only thing I come up with is that WE have failed the kids. We have allowed for a culture where the innocence of youth and adolescence has been replaced by the convenience of electronic babysitters.
Also, I wanna take this opportunity (because I can!) to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom. Thanks for giving me shit when I called the babysitter an idiot! If you kids aren’t careful and shape up, I’m gonna sic Ma Baker on ya!!!
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