Flashing lights. No privacy. Every move you make scrutinized. None of these factors sound too appealing, but they’re things actors and actresses have to deal with on a daily basis. For many, the transition into the spotlight is doable, but imagine the difficulty faced when the targets of all of this focus have barely even hit puberty yet.

Being in the spotlight means having strangers critiquing every move you make. This must be mentally tolling, especially when growing up with all that ridicule. Childhood is supposed to be a time to enjoy oneself and develop one’s individuality. Instead, young actors become influenced by ideas they are “supposed” to follow and how others believe they should live their life. Everyone has opinions on how others should present themselves, but they seem to forget that young actors are not yet adults.

This generation of actors and actresses definitely have to deal with more attention due to the development of social media. They deal with constant paparazzi, critiquing on social media and rumors spreading around the Internet. Despite all of this attention, most seem to be making the most of it. There have clearly been child stars before—Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. The difference between the two generations is the amount of press that the kids of today receive; technology allows people to be much more invasive than ever before.

Two popular child actors who are in the spotlight now are “Stranger Things” stars Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard. Instead of becoming overwhelmed by the intense attention on them, they use it to their advantage.

Brown has been able to use this exposure to secure herself a role in the fashion world. She attended both New York and Milan fashion weeks and has been talked about as a style icon in Vogue Paris. She “twinned” with Karlie Kloss at NYFW and has quickly befriended many celebrities such as Drake. She even has an estimated net worth of $3 million.

“I have chosen to act and I know what comes with acting is fame and photographers and paparazzi and interviews all the time, and I love it because it’s my favorite thing,” Brown said in an interview with Vogue Australia.

Wolfhard is equally as successful, with a net worth of around $2 million. He recently starred in the horror movie “It,” an adaption of Stephen King’s novel, and was featured on the top 100 with his band Calpurnia.

“I’m just a person,” Wolfhard said in an interview with Teen Vogue when asked about his newfound success.

But how were these two able to turn scrutiny into a career? There’s no sure answer for why this is, but I definitely have some ideas. Brown comes across as very mature for being 14, and I believe that her maturity is how she learned to handle the success, and why she gets along so well with older stars.
I also think that their ability to handle the pressure is because of the era they grew up in.
Technology was not a new concept to them, as they were raised with it all around them, so the idea of being filmed and critiqued online was not a foreign concept when they rose to fame. They were used to the constant attention and the social media aspect of being a famous celebrity.

Both actors have quickly risen to fame in the span of two years; Wolfhard’s followers have grown to more than 9 million and Brown’s to more than 15 million. Despite the difficulties celebrities face that arise with this invasiveness, Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard have made the most of their situations and used the fame to skyrocket their success.

These young actors have adapted to the fame with few problems and are clearly on path for very successful careers.