I had the, um, opportunity, for lack of better word, to view an entire episode of "My super sweet 16" on MTV yesterday. Can I only say how disgusted I was at seeing 16 year old girls (and boys) demanding $50,000+ cars ("or else!"), parties that run in the tens of thousands of dollars, flights to Paris to only buy a party dress (which she only wore for the first hour of the party before one of her many outfit changes), high-profile entertainment and exclusive invite lists delivered in an equally expensive manner. It's akin to all the uber-thin models making all the normal girls feel bad. The flaunting of this type of wealth on INCREDIBLY spoiled and manipulative children for such superficial reasons on a television network meant for the "everyday" kid/person is ridiculous. I do believe in the right to raise your kids the way you see fit, but aren't these parents doing them an injustice by allowing them to get EVERYTHING they want at anytime at ANY cost. I would be ashamed if my children talked to me the way those kids talk to their parents ("Oh, the Porsche Cayenne is only $50,000? Cool, I thought it would be more than that. Get it for me." Even the mom, in her only moment of reason, said "you think $50,000 is cheap?") Little girls crying and stomping their feet and refusing to go to the party that is costing big bucks because their personal stylist didn't do her hair right. Give me a fucking break. It's not reality TV, MTV, it's lurid profitting of hideously parented children at the cost of the self-esteem of all the NORMAL kids in the world. Way to make the majority of your audience feel bad and wish for something that realistically will not happen for 99.99% of them.
If you're close to my age, you may remember a time when MTV was cool. It was a little alternative, a little rebellious and actually stood for something free and liberating in the world. Too bad they sold out too.