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This article (Forbes, 5/28/09) highlights the marketing potential of youth, as it showcases teenage celebrities who rake in huge profits by catering largely to a young audience. The language throughout this article continually stresses the teenagers' profitability, as it describes them as "brand builders" who have "bagged endorsements, raised money for charity, and even sold their personal stories to the tabloids," all phrases that note the young stars' money making ability. I thought it was interesting how corporations such as Disney have learned the enormous profitability of using youth to market to youth. I would be interested in exploring whether countries other than the U.S. also have a significant number of teenage entrepreneurs, as I am curious if this phenomenon is just a byproduct of our culture's reverence of younger generations, coupled with our extreme capitalist mindset, or part of a universal human fascination with youth.
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This article makes me think of Michael Jackson's career starting at such a young age. In several documentaries about his life continuously comment on how he had no childhood because he became part of the entertainment business too early and quickly. Due to his faulty childhood, he displayed strange behavior and actions during his adulthood. I feel that these rising, young, teenage entrepreneurs/stars might experience a similar consequence as Michael and many other child-stars (i.e. involvement in drugs). A person's childhood is a vital growth stage in life where they learn the lessons of sharing through interaction with other children, taking self initiative, creativity, and discipline. These basic skills allow us to successfully mature and engage in the various social activities naturally.
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