Walt Disney Co. probably screws with a young child star’s mind more than acid does to an adult watching Fantasia. To see this, just watch Miley Cyrus’ new music video to the song “Can’t Be Tamed.” Now this video, as with most of her career, was probably not her idea, but there has to be some emotional damage that results from having to pretend to be a bird and performing subpar dance moves to a song that is nothing short of a Lady Gaga imitation.

Most of the damage, however, must come from the fact that people know way too much about this 17-year-old. Teenage girls sometimes dance proactively and might even take inappropriate photos of themselves. This is not commendable behavior, but it is not unheard of. What is beyond ordinary is that her life has been plastered over the entire Internet. It is seems as though she is not being given a childhood and as she gets closer to 18, she probably will never have one.

It’s important to keep in mind that we are still doing this especially as we get closer to the one-year anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death. Now Cyrus will probably have nowhere near the staying power that Jackson did or be as screwed up. It should be remembered that Jackson, after all the recent respect, was the butt of the joke for the years leading up to his death. We seem to want these people to either be demigods or the world’s biggest wrecks, leaving little room for them to just be regular people. It’s only generous of the rest of us to hope Cyrus doesn’t become the next coked-up Lindsay Lohan or shaved Britney Spears. At this rate though, hoping may be futile.

So as the anniversary of Jackson’s death gets closer, remember that people like Cyrus will one day be old and living with the fact that while they might no longer be popular, the mistakes they made when they were in their teen years will be accessible to all. As the fast majority will be able to effortlessly move on and forget their childhood mistakes, hers will always be just one click away from embarrassment.