time to accept that being a celebrity is a valid career choice...

[zippitippitoes]

..it's experiencing exponential growth and lots of kids want to be famous..winwin or impending crisis

are the child modellers cutting edge for a new society or riding for a fall?

when will I be famous?

This is one subject guaranteed to push my Grumpy Old Woman button.

There's nothing particularly wrong with wanting to be an actress or a singer or even (wince) a TV presenter but 'celebrity' is not a valid career choice and never will be. I find the low expectations of the youth of today unutterably depressing.

i must be old fashioned. i dont even watch big brother etc.
and no respect for a celebrity per se. you have to do something do deserve respect. not simply act like an idiot on live national tv.

agree snafu, 'unutterably depressing' sums it up for me.

I wouldnt want my DD to be a "sleb"

no way
what a shallow, false, insecure industry

Id rather he ba journalist {arf}

Not for a 12 year old!!! 12 year old wanting to be on the stage or the TV actually doing something - fine. But not a 12 year old just wanting to be famous. I am going to have to parp before I self combust.

Celebrity for celebrities sake is so depressing. I just can't understand it tbh. I would be very worried if my children wanted to get into anything connected with entertainment/celebrity because it's just so fickle and I don't think I could stand to see them torn apart when their 5 minutes are up. What are the advantages of fame anyway? Ok, so maybe they'll be financially comfortable (until their accountant/manager fleeces them) but every aspect of their life will be picked over, every little secret or mistake dragged into public view, every new friendship will have that nagging doubt 'is it me, or my fame/money' bleurgh, no thanks.

How can celebrity be a career choice? Are these people really proud of it? It's just so shallow. All gloss and no depth.

i agree.

celebrity should be sought for doing something...be it acting,singing, dancing...whatever but have an ounce of talent at least.

wanting to be the next "jodie marsh" is saying that you have no talent, arent that pretty nor very bright but you are so lazy you want to get rich for wopping your norks out.....that is not somehting i want for my children!

It also concerns me that people like Jade Goody are so highly publicised...she has gained fame and fortune for being poorly educated! is that really a role model for todays society?
sadly while the media make 'slebs of these no marks education standards and society in general will slip. why should children bother getting any qualifications, if your thick you can be a 'sleb.

What a fine statement on today's culture . . .

i think it's sort of natural for children to want to be famous, but once they reach sixteen or so, realise how fickle the industry is. what annoys me is agencies and the media actually signing up 12 year olds. wrong sorry

i woudl not accept this in any way. and my children know that i dont think it is a valid career choice.

Fame! I'm gonna live for Botox
And a skirt that shows most of my thighs
Fame! I've got no discernable talent
People will see me and cry
"Ere, ain't you that bird that got her tits out on Celebrity Love Island? Crap, wern'it?"...

snafu

snafu

but in the likes of jade has she not ultimately been quite atute and the laugh is on us for despising her way of "making good"..she has certainly dicovered a talent for milking her five minutes

and there are thousands of "opportunities" now with satellite TV, magazines, events etc

isn't it old fashioned not to exploit the market?

i suppose it depends on what role models you have as a child. i work with kids and it is rare to find one that wants to be a doctor or vet but luckily there are a few.

Actually read an article in a broadsheet about Jade Goody which pointed out she'd missed an awful lot of school due to a very difficult childhood where she was basically a carer for her drug-addict mother. And her father was even more of a nightmare. Have had a bit more respect for her since.

But agree that it's very depressing that children want to be slebs, rather than actors, or singers, or even TV presenters FGS. Sleb culture has a lot to answer for.

it used to be acceptable for the toffs to be celebs for not doing a lot except appearing on the "circuit"..is there not an element of snobbishness towards the new wave of celebs?

and what about celebrity doctors, zoologists etc are they allowed because they are are also professionals albeit ones who have chosen to make a career from celebrity ?

I don't think it's quite the same though, zippi. Celebrity chefs etc - well, they're mostly irritating but to become one you do also have to have some talent/ability/training.

If you've done 7 years of med school, 10 years of professional practice and then decide to appear on GMTV talking about piles that's one thing. Appearing in Heat mag week after week after week and writing your autobiography at 23 all because you appeared on a reality TV show is another!

but there are people who want to become celebrity chefs, nannies, dog trainers etc rather than run of the mill suburban nobodies

Agree with Snafu

Personally, I'd like nothing more than to earn several grand for flashing my pants outside Chinawhite