Instant fame for the old and young

As I was driving just now, I heard Susan Boyle singing "I deamed a dream" on the radio. I wondered to myself how many things have become "instant" these days. Including worldwide fame.

With precooked food, we have instant meal using the microwave to heat up. With email, we have instant delivery of messages. With the internet, we can get a lot of information instantly. But fame? Who would have thought that even fame can be "instant-nized "?

Before the advent of the internet, fame took time to build up. The Beatles did not become a household name overnight. Through the power of the internet, Susan Boyle outsold the Beatles in the Christmas album sales in Australia last year, although she only became famous only a very short time ago.

On the other end of the age spectrum though, many aspiring parents are tapping into the internet (Youtube) to launch their children into stardom. A quick search on the Youtube showed that youngsters as young as 7 years old are singing their hearts out and strutting on the stage like a pro. Actually I think these parents are denying their children of normal childhood in their haste to achieve instant fame. I have nothing against true child prodigy, but it is a shame to put a normal child in the spotlight of fame. Many adults cannot handle it, what more a mere child?