We're officially part of a generation where people will do practically anything for their fifteen minutes of fame – even if the fame is vicarious and can only be achieved by shoving a teenage daughter on Youtube for the delectation of sexual predators across the globe.
We see this desperation for "fame" everywhere and it seems to be hitting earlier and earlier. Globally, we see it via Youtube with the most moronic (but usually pretty harmless) home videos ever. Locally it's best evidenced with a series of – let's call them unwise – pictures uploaded by teenagers (and sometimes their mums) on Facebook. Photos of thirteen-year-olds pretending to be official dancers at parties, photos of teenagers in skimpy underwear in their bedroom... there's tons of internet detritus around and you don't even need to look for it. It usually comes knocking on your door unsolicited.
Like the fifteen-year-old Venus Angelic - because yes, nowadays fifteen-year-olds have stage names that bring to mind soft porn stars – and her "living doll" tutorial on Youtube. When I first stumbled on it I didn't give it much thought beyond posting the video link on my personal blog, together with a couple of lines wondering what on earth her parents were thinking exposing their daughter to thousands of potential weirdos on cyberspace.
Fast-forward a couple of days later and the wrath of Venus Angelic's league of fans descended on me and on anyone else who publicly questioned the sagacity of these vlogs. Barring some bona fide feedback from regular followers, the stunning majority of irate comments originated from impressionable girls in their early teenage years with very obvious stars in their eyes. Every one of them eager to become another Venus Angelic. Scary thought.
For those who have not seen the video (which you can view on Youtube here: http://youtu.be/ojYBcMFkdfY), I should explain why I find the thought so scary. In her online tutorials, Venus Angelic gives her odd 30K followers a breathy, giggly explanation about various make-up techniques that mostly revolve around creating a doll-like look, about using eye-enlarging contact lenses (all the better to look like a doll, my dear) and so forth.
Her tutorials have been the subject of media controversy for these past weeks and with good reason. Despite her mother's continuous denials on the media, only the most naive viewer would insist that the videos carry no sexual undertone. Whether this is intentional or not is hardly the point. The point is that this fifteen-year-old has a mother who is so desperate to shine vicariously that she is okay with her daughter exposing herself to the internet creeps and weirdos.
I also have my reservations about how "unintentional" the sexual undertones really are. When someone uploads a review about contact lenses together with a close up of her cleavage bearing the legend "Censored" and captioned "WOW They're Huge", it sort of pours cold water on the parent's argument that the sexual undertones are all in our imagination.
My conclusion despite a very public lynching on Venus Angelic's fan page? Yup. Her parents should be forcibly pointed in the direction of the nearest therapist's offices for letting their daughter become part of this media farce.