My son is in first grade and his best friend is trying to get him to join Facebook so they can play games together. I said “no” and I plan to continue to keep saying that until he’s in junior high at least, at which point there will probably be a ton more social networking apps and sites to freak me out. This is what comes to mind for me when I saw this self portrait of Willow Smith that she posted to “Who Say” after she shaved her head. Does someone oversee her online activities, and did they ok her posting this? She seems to be taking pictures of herself and putting them up without asking an adult, but I don’t know that for sure.
I think kids should be able to pick out their clothes and hairstyles, within reason, although we’ve heard that Willow has a stylist. When I was in seventh grade, only slightly older than Willow, I shaved half my head and to my parents’ credit they didn’t freak out and just went with it. I don’t think kids should be able to independently use social networking apps without supervision, though. This is very young to be posting photos online, but I keep telling my kid that the Internet was only just coming out when I was in college. It’s a different world out there, plus Willow’s very privileged jet-setting world is much different than other little kids. She’s a pop star! Here’s more on her new look. She can’t “whip her hair” anymore.
Goodness knows what her superstar father Will Smith will make of his daughters outrageous new look.
But without her long locks she certainly looks more like her father Will than her mother Jada Pinkett Smith.
The youngster also decided to show off her love of ballet by posting further pictures on WhoSay, which styles itself as a social network service for VIPs and celebrities.
She posed for a picture where she sat on a chair in a dance studio, while in another she shows off her golden ballet shoes.
[From Daily Mail]
As a side note, please don’t make any mean comments about Willow’s appearance. She may look a lot like her dad that’s true, but try to remember that she’s 11.
In other news about Willow that’s kind of sad, Star Magazine has a cover story this week that her parents Will and Jada have split up and are on separate coasts with each of their kids. This is right on the cover, so chances are high that the kids have seen it. We’ve heard for some time that Will and Jada are having trouble:
With Jaden, 13, currently living in Philadelphia with Will and Willow, 11, living mainly in L.A. with Jada – almost 3,000 miles apart – it’s only a matter of time until the split is official. And sources say the children are already devastated about being a family divided.
“It’s always a shame when divorce splits up families,” Jada’s great aunt Estelle Pinkett tells Star. Indeed, as Will and Jada divide their assets and get used to living apart, one source says, “the kids are really suffering.
“They haven’t spent any time as a whole family in months,” the source continues, “and it’s not going to happen anytime soon – if ever again.”
[From Star Magazine, print edition, February 13, 2012]
Will is in Philadelphia to shoot a movie, After Earth directed by M. Night Shamalan, and Star reminds us that Willow is going on tour in May. So it sounds Will and Jada are necessarily apart for work and are each trying to single parent one of their kids. Still, maybe Willow is acting out by shaving her head. It seems pretty normal to me. Going on tour at 11 isn’t normal though. I wish Will and Jada would try and shield their kids from fame instead of putting them in the family business.
Here’s Willow at a BET event on 1-14-12. She looks so pretty in that yellow dress. She’s also shown on 12-13-11. Credit: WENN.com
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