What happens when fame comes too soon?

There have always been – and always will be – cases of famous children, actors, singers or athletes who achieve great success and a lot of media exposure. However, the development of new technologies has led to the increase of professions in which children can develop a career from a very young age.

Youtubers, influencers, gamers,in addition to new platforms that demand more children’s actors, singers and models… these are some of the new occupations for exceptional children who stand out in this world of adults designed for adults. How does this early media exposure affect your emotional development?

Children flattered but also beaten

These children or young people, upon receiving the praise of millions of people, get used to being the center of attention from a very young age and living surrounded by everything that fame implies: luxury, fan groups, whims, expensive clothes, trips, parties. , etc. Unfortunately, they also get used to becoming the center of criticism, envy, jealousy and violence of many thousands of people.

Trolls, stalkers, abusers, spend their lives chasing these girls and boys whose lives are highly exposed through social networks.

This phenomenon of bullying also occurs live. Let’s remember, for example, the young star of Strangers Things, Millie Bobby Brown who, faced with the bullying she received from her schoolmates, ended up opting to pursue education at home. It was the way to safeguard his emotional and psychological health that, after his exposure to bullyinghad been greatly diminished.

As we were also able to see in the documentary that was broadcast a few months ago about the children of Parchís who Fame comes with many dangers, some very serious, such as very early exposure to drugs, alcohol, and sexual abuse.

Unfortunately, often this It is not a brake for some fathers and mothers who put pressure on their children to become the new phenomenon of the networks. These parents take their children to contests, to casting and make them work adult schedules to achieve fame and popularity.

In many cases, these children are nothing more than the reflection of the unsatisfied desires or aspirations of the parents who want to fulfill their dreams through the success of their children.

Young people who are marked for life

Over time (sometimes very little), when they grow up or are no longer profitable, most of these children are discarded by the industry. These little ones are replaced by others that are younger, handsome or funny. They then become what we know as “broken toys”, those child stars who fall into oblivion and who, after their moment of fame, they remain floating in the void of anonymity.

These children, broken toys, no longer being the center of attention, fall into depression or are victims of addictions. Among others, we could name some well-known cases such as Joselito, a movie and song prodigy child who, decades later, was addicted to cocaine and was even on the brink of suicide.

Another example: Linda Blair, a “girl from the exorcist”. She was convicted of drug trafficking or that of Drew Barrymore, addicted to alcohol at the age of 11, to drugs at the age of 12, at the age of 13 she tried to commit suicide and at the age of 14, after an intense rehabilitation process, legally separated from your parents to be able to leave exposed to his influence that was deeply harmful and toxic for her.

Over the years, when Drew Barrymore, now an adult and a successful woman, had her own daughters, she declared that she would never do to them what her parents had done to her, that I would never expose them to adult situations.

Can you prevent them from becoming “broken toys”?

As we always talk in this blog, the attention and support of parents is always the key to prevent and avoid emotional damage to children. And the same thing happens in The case of the development of broken toy syndrome.

The big problem with these children, broken toys, is that they lost their childhood.

They could not enjoy being children, getting dirty with mud, playing freely, sleeping until they were full, eating sweets, doing children’s things, being anonymous… because they had adult responsibilities when they were neither physically nor emotionally present. noI psychologically prepared for them.

With the passage of time, when these people are left without work and flattery, a continuous feeling of emptiness and abandonment seizes them: they are older and nobody remembers them. If his only world and his only incentive in life had been his work and the fame derived from it, when all this blows up, It is very difficult for these people to find something that fills their lives, so in order to try to cover their existential emptiness, they easily end up falling into all kinds of addictions.

A balanced and mature accompaniment of parents is essential to help children not grow dependent on their work and fame.

It is important that these children keep different areas of activity active, that they play, that they learn about other issues, that they have as normal a life as possible out of the spotlight.

These little ones must be able to live their childhood in a secure environment anchored to their reality as children and, above all, feeling accompanied by their loved ones like the creatures they are.

During childhood and adolescence, the presence of parents in this case is especially important to create an intimate and familiar atmosphere that gives them emotional support, accompanying them on all their trips and without leaving them in the hands of third parties. Also It is essential that their parents are vigilant to protect them from abuse, harassment and exposure to the harmful side of the networks.

Only by feeling fulfilled when they are little can they avoid experiencing the emptiness that other child artists experience when fame disappears.