iCarly & Hannah Montana

Let me start off by saying that no, I do not religiously watch iCarly or Hannah Montana or any show with similar ideas.  I do, however, watch my six-year-old niece watch these shows and I see how they affect her.  (Also, I am choosing to write about her favorite shows as opposed to my own because, quite simply, I don't watch enough television to have a favorite.)  When I was her age, my favorite shows didn’t have main characters that were famous and bratty (hello, DJ Tanner), and if a child was portrayed as bratty, they weren’t meant to be looked up to (and we didn’t).  Now, I am fully aware that these shows today are fiction and technically shouldn’t be taken seriously.  However, they aren’t depicted like that to their young, impressionable audience.  My niece is under the impression that it’s possible to lead a life like Hannah Montana and be rich and famous by the time she’s sixteen.  And sure, iCarly puts a high value on friendship and that’s great, but the characters are never shown as having parents or other family.  And if there is a parent figure presented at all, they are depicted as being annoying and stupid (the brother in iCarly).  The show shows these friends doing all sorts of crazy things that would never fly in a typical household, such as skipping class, going against teachers, etc., and getting away with it all—while being famous on the side.  Clearly, these ideas should be rejected, but I have seen my niece imitate the shows.  Both shows have glamorous girls as leads and supporting roles—their hair is always done and their makeup is flawless (not to mention very thin and rarely shown eating)--which young girls are interpreting the wrong way.  They feel like they need to wear makeup and they need to own every Hannah Montana/iCarly merchandise known to man. It is so easy for these sorts of shows to seduce this young audience into believing that beauty, fame, and money will get you anywhere and that anyone can attain that status with little to no work, not to mention education (which is never stressed in the programs).