Child Stars - Ignoring Mental Illness - Essay Example

The stigma management theory is the best explanation as will be discussed in detail below.

According to Durkee (2012), child stars live a double life: they are still their parent’s children and have to abide by their rules and even be “normal” when attending school also there is the life of a star highlighted by fame, accessories, paparazzi, and another different life under the limelight and flashing bulbs of “lights, camera, action.” This eventually takes a toll on them because they are still young and are also experiencing adolescence which is a period marked with turmoil and attempts to independence away from their parents. What happens therefore is that the majority of them fall into the wrong company and wrong advisors and end up with drug addiction to help sort out their lives and make decisions. This is what happened to Lindsey Lohan and Britney Spears among others.

For those who do not end up with substance abuse and addiction like Miley Cyrus, they chose disobedience and acting out as a way of coping with their problems. Disobedience of parents and other social support systems and deciding to be an adult earlier than the years indicate leads to making wrong decisions that ultimately affect one’s career and fame as the fame light bulb starts to flicker and eventually completely stop leaving one stigmatized and nowhere to turn to. Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato are the perfect examples who defied their parents and distanced themselves from their loved ones and adopted a deviant lifestyle of “adult independence” in terms of their dressing and their star activity leading to even their fans distancing themselves from them.

Stigma management aims at stopping the stigmatization that society has upon these child stars once they start becoming famous. The pressure of excelling and coping with the changes is too much for them as they are still children and they should be more tolerant and patient. Stigma management which is what most child stars eventually turn to involves different steps and therapies the first being open admittance of the existence of a problem and the stigma that surrounds it. What follows is surrounding oneself with people and information that would help one recover for example for addicts going to rehab and being determined to get and remain clean and clear of drugs. The last step is positivity. This involves being positive about the challenges that one will encounter as this is the only way that would prevent relapse and enable one to deal with the stigma aftermaths as well as the fame pressure (Goffman 146). Read More