网络选秀让成名越来越早

 　　Forget beauty pageants 1 and tween talent shows, modern stage parents have a new outlet 2 to push their children into the fame game: the Internet.

　　别管什么选美和才艺比赛了，现在的爸爸妈妈可以通过网络让自己的孩子一夜成名。
　　With the ability to instantly broadcast everything from mundane 3 childhood firsts to talented kids singing, dancing and acting 4, parents who seek the spotlight 5 for their children are capitalizing on the online medium to catapult them to stardom.
　　从蹒跚起步到小荷初露，有关孩子的一切都能通过网络发布出去。家长们开始利用网络媒体推销自家小孩，吸引公众眼球。
　　Baby-faced 16-year old singer Justin Bieber has become the poster child for how YouTube can turn an ordinary kid almost overnight into somebody who inspires teen girls to faint on cue. In 2007 Bieber's mother began posting his musical performances online for family and friends who couldn't attend them in person. Former marketing 6 manager Scooter Braun happened upon a Bieber clip on YouTube and was so struck by Bieber's talent that he flew the teenager to Atlanta to meet hip-hop star Usher 7 in 2008.
　　长着一张娃娃脸的16岁歌手Justin Bieber无疑是YouTube这个明星制造机的绝佳代言人。本来他不过是默默无闻的普通男生，然而一夜之间他成为无数女孩的暗恋对象。2007年Bieber的妈妈将他唱歌跳舞的表演视频贴到网上，本是为了给那些没法参加家庭聚会的亲戚朋友看的。市场经纪人Scooter Braun看到这些之后，惊叹于Bieber的才华，特意将他带到亚特兰大与著名Hip-hop歌手Usher会面。
　　Bieber's first single was released in fall 2009 and quickly rose to the top of the international charts, making him an instant sensation and making his story a "how-to" tale for parents looking to make their kids famous.
　　Bieber于09年秋季发行了首张单曲，并很快在国际上有了名声，红极一时的同时也让其他父母意识到，该怎样让自己的小孩也成为同样走红的明星。
　　More and more, parents are trying to market their kids on the Web by posting videos on YouTube and Facebook. But what may seem like innocent self-promotion could actually be damaging to a child's sense of self-worth and their self-esteem.
　　越来越多的父母将这样的视频贴到网上，但这种看似单纯的自我推销很可能扭曲一个孩子的自我价值观以及自尊。
　　In 2009, the Heene family became famous for their "Balloon boy" hoax 8 when they said their son had been trapped in a homemade balloon speeding across the Colorado sky, only to admit later that they were trying to get attention for a reality show. In the ensuing coverage 9, it turned out they had also filmed their three young sons singing a violent rap song called "Pussification" and posted the video on YouTube in order to garner 10 the same kind of attention for themselves.
　　09年Heene家因为臭名昭著的“热气球男孩”事件闻名全国。他们谎称自己的儿子受困于一个自制的热气球中，正飘过科罗拉多州上空，随后不得不承认这只是为一场真人秀进行的炒作。随后人们发现，这对夫妻还录制了由三个小儿子演唱不良rap歌曲的视频并放到网上，目的同样是为了引起注意。
　　"If putting your kids in this kind of video is part of a parenting philosophy that promotes fame as an important goal, it is setting kids up to be narcissistic 11, to have unrealistic expectations, and an inflated 12 sense of self," worries Jean Twenge, author of "The Narcissism 13 Epidemic 14: Living in the Age of Entitlement."
　　《自恋魔咒：一个属于头衔的时代》一书作者Jean Twenge警告说：“如果让你的孩子参与这种录像的演出，对你而言是一种获取名声的教育方式，这会让你的小孩变得过于自恋，自我膨胀并对未来有不切实际的期望。”