Fame and fortune are not always what they seem. But, according to E News, Millie Bobby Brown, star of Netflix’s Stranger Things, says she still feels “like any other 13-year old,” even after after her newfound fame. Brown rose to stardom after her role in the recent show Stranger Things, but she doesn’t feel that’s she’s changed too much since then.

Although that may be true for Brown, people who became famous too young are often affected in negative ways in the future. According to Psychology Today, an average celebrity lifestyle comes with the stress of the celebrity press, critics, threatening letters/calls, lack of privacy and constant monitoring of their lives. Most of the time all these stress factors lead to depression, ranging from minor to severe, and can also lead to substance abuse and suicidal thoughts.

Fame is already hard as an adult, and putting unrealistic expectations on children and teenagers can mess up their state of mind. Realistically speaking, no one is ever truly ready for the limelight; therefore, kids who haven’t experienced much of life are most definitely not ready.

An obvious example of such a celebrity gone bad is Lindsay Lohan. Lohan began her pathway to fame from the early age of 3, and once she hit her early 20s, her life tumbled downwards. She was literally born into the industry and was deprived of a normal childhood. When one only knows of life in the industry and of nothing else, then it is almost impossible for them to stay grounded because they have no ground to go back to.

Chris Kelly was discovered for his rapping skills when he was a young teenager, and unfortunately he died of a drug overdose at the age of 34. Exposing kids to the industry when they’re still naive and immature can lead to them experimenting with substances. So many celebrities have been consumed by fame that they lose themselves. Children and teens already don’t completely find themselves until they’re in their 20s, and when they’re suddenly given money and privileges all of that can get to their heads. Every child needs a somewhat normal childhood in order to develop and gain real life experiences.

There are many people to blame for such negativity; however the most amount of stress comes from social media and the way it depicts its celebrity victims. Any average person has insecurities and expectations to live up to, but a celebrity has double the amount with having to please not just their family and friends, but the world itself. When those expectations are not met, that’s when social media turns into a platform for bullying and assault.  

According to a recent article in Outside, athletes are one of the many celebrity groups who are constantly being affected by the media. Competitive skier Caroline Gleich has had her fair share of cyberbullying and cyberstalking. She spent a large portion of her career receiving rude comments and threats on her social media, and at one point the taunts had gotten so bad that she was scared into carrying pepper spray with her. Another Olympian, Kristin Armstrong, also received vile comments on social media. “Two weeks before the Olympic Games, I didn’t believe I could compete,” Armstrong said in an interview with Outside. “I was so wound up and stressed, I couldn’t sleep at night. All I could do was think about what these people had to say.”

People may say that the media shouldn’t be blamed because everyone is entitled to their own opinions. However, there is no denying that standards of the media leave behind an unhealthy environment for such young stars. Often times people forget that celebrities are human too and they make mistakes like any normal person would. The only difference is that once they do wrong the whole world knows about it.

Fame comes with many prices, and kids usually only know about the glamorous side and not the latter; therefore, once they are members of the industry they can be easily influenced and may not be able to handle what social media will, without a doubt, throw at them.