Young Hollywood-Youth, Impulsivity and Fame
Posted on May 6, 2009
Filed Under East meets West, Guest Columnist | Leave a Comment
By Dr. Robi Ludwig
There was a time in my life when I thought the sooner one became famous, the luckier they were. I must admit, this is an idea I had when I was much younger and more naïve! It’s not an uncommon idea, though. After all, these young celebs do seem to have it all: youth, beauty, fame, money. What more could a person ask for; right; especially in a world which places so much importance on fame and seems to admire celebrities, almost more than anything else.
Well, I suppose time and experience has made me seriously rethink this earlier idea. In fact, now when I see the very young celebs, I often react quite differently. I probably react more like a mother (which I am). I hope they have a good support system in place, to help them handle some of the pitfalls that can come with having too much too soon. Some of the casualties of young fame are: Michael Jackson (from the old days), Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Chris Brown and Rhianna. Even some of the newer reality stars have become victims of some impulsive behaviors, which often come about with this type of increased recognition, i.e. Paris Hilton or the tawdrier “celeb-want-to-be†turned reality star, Natalie Suleiman, otherwise known as the octo-mom. Remember her? She is the woman from California who chose to have 8 children at the same time (via in vitro), after having 6 children at home, without having a job, partner or any other way to support her “love†of having lots of kids? Her resemblance to, Angelina Jolie, was a little bit more than both apparent and disturbing. In fact, this look seemed quite deliberate, plastic surgery and all!
Ya see, the advantage of being a little bit older, and better emotionally developed (for lack of a better word), when fame hits, is that the mature famous person has more of an opportunity to learn about themselves and live life (without the cameras following them and their every move), as well as an opportunity to learn how life really is. The world does not revolve around us (even though we’d like it to). Some people are fare weather friends and are only interested in us when we’re successful and on top. Others are just untrustworthy people, who are users, period. And just because fame finds a person at one point in their life, that doesn’t mean it’s going to last forever, and that goes for the money that comes with these kinds of high paying jobs too. People, who become famous later in life, have a better chance of appreciating how fortunate they are. They also have had an opportunity to learn that in order to stay on top professionally; it helps to appreciate what you’ve achieved, and know how to work hard in order to maintain it.
Youth, by the nature of it, is a more impulsive time in a person’s life. The ability to make the connection between action and consequences is not fully developed in the young person’s brain. So if you have a lot of money, already feel entitled, like many young people do, have an inclination to be self-destructive, and feel very powerful or grandiose, this can be a very dangerous combination for someone who’s young and famous, yet really clueless about life and how it works. Fame exaggerates what people feel they can get away with. It also can get the young and the famous to behave in ways that can hurt themselves, i.e. drink and do drugs too much, be more vulnerable to eating disorders, making poor choices in men/people, spending too much money and behave in other ways that can hurt their reputation and or ruin their future job prospects or opportunities.
So there you have it. Being young and famous may not be all it’s cracked up to be. Something to think about the next time you pick up those tabloid news papers and read about your favorite young celebs making the news.
About Dr  Robi Ludwig
 
Dr. Robi Ludwig is a nationally known psychotherapist, award winning reporter, as well as host of GSN’s new reality game show, “Without Prejudice?”. She also hosted two seasons of TLC’s reality show, “One Week to Save Your Marriage”, and can be currently also be seen Monday nights at 8:00 PM on Nancy Grace on CNN’s Headline News. Dr. Ludwig was recently made contributing editor for Cookie magazine, a modern lifestyle magazine for moms, and also made her debut as guest host for CNN’s Larry King Live. Dr. Ludwig is a regular contributor to the Today Show, GMTV – Britain’s number one Morning show, as well as CNN, Headline News, The Fox News Channel and Court TV where she talks about psychological/lifestyle issues as well as the criminal mind. She also appears on national shows such as: E!, Regis and Kelly, Oprah, The View, Bill O’Reilly, and Hannity and Colmes, helping audiences and guests alike to understand the complexities of the human condition. Her book, ’Till Death Do Us Part: Love, Marriage and the Mind of the Killer Spouse, written with Matt Birkbeck is published with Atria books. It came out March in 2006 and will be out in paperback this spring.
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