Videos of DC Stars being... "Just Like Us"

Remember back in the day, when forums would be filled with "OMG!! I think I found Hilary Duff's MySpace!!!!!!111111" And someone else would respond, "No, Hilary Duff is famous, she's too busy to have a MySpace."

Well, times sure have changed. Either child stars were reallyyyyy busy back then and have all the free time in the world right now, or new media is getting so popular at this moment that celebrities are finding it acceptable to jump on the bandwagon as well and not shield themselves from so much privacy. I'm guessing it's the latter that's correct.

Selena Gomez from Wizards of Waverly Place both has a public MySpace site as well as a shared YouTube account with her best friend Demi Lovato -- who currently stars on As The Bell Rings on Disney Channel and will be in the upcoming DCOM Camp Rock alongside the Jonas Brothers.

Here's the latest YouTube vid they've got posted up on their page. They're modeling their Powerpuff Girls t-shirts... or something.

See? Disney Channel Stars really are "Just Like Us." Forget about those commercial interviews they used to air (and still do?) on DC. Of course, this is Selena and Demi we're talking about, two girls who really haven't crossed the "Super Fame" line. To me, they look like they have wayyy too much time on their hands right now.... but whatever, they're having fun. Who knows what they're gonna be up to in a few years if they suddenly explode into superstardom.

As for the others...

Miley Cyrus used to have a private MySpace, where pictures of her goofing off with friends leaked online for the world to see (remember the lollipop sleepover scandal? Or maybe that one picture of her lifting up her shirt in the bathroom? ...Yeah.) Either she made a new one and has the security settings on complete RED so people won't find out about it, or she gave up, but meanwhile, she still has time to make silly and insanely random YouTube videos with her friend Mandy...

...Personally, I am totally creeped out by this. But I hate Miley Cyrus to begin with, so maybe I'm just biased. I don't think I am though... I just think this is just really obnoxious and creepy. But so is Hannah Montana to begin with... I guess kids these days really go for the whole obnoxious/annoying thing. Sadly.

Then there's Ashley Tisdale, who uses her YouTube strictly to communicate with her fans. While there's quite a bit of videos of Ashley herself thanking her fans for whatever reason... either coming to her concert, voting for her video, whatever... there's also random videos of her in her "everyday life"... such as the following video.

Sometimes, watching Ashley's videos just make me cringe, because it seems like she's trying way too hard to be a good role model to kids. Maybe that's just me though.

And then of course, how can you forget Raviv "Ricky" Ullman. AKA... Phil Diffy from Phil of the Future. Well... let's just say this homeboy has completely put his Disney image behind him. Yes, the following video from YouTube is old... but let's face it, I really don't think it will ever lose its amusement. And just as a fair warning, there's lots of cussing and drug use.

Last but not least, once we venture across the border to Canada, we can see that those Disney Channel Canadian stars are just as Internet-savvy as the American stars. Actually, the DC Canadian crew posted online videos back in 2006, which is a long time before the rest of the DC stars started to join in as well. Here we have Ashley Leggat, who plays Casey on the Disney Channel Canadian show Life With Derek. The video is actually a video from her birthday that she posted from her MySpace, which she uses to communicate with her fans. Life With Derek itself certainly loves the Internet; currently, the show is heavy on "Video Podcasts" alongside the episodes aired on television, which gives "behind the scenes" interviews and really help fans understand the stars of the show better. I personally really like the idea. Then again, give me anything Canadian and I will love it. ;)

Well, these are just a handful of what Disney stars have been up to. They've been embracing new media just like every other normal teen out there... not hiding themselves behind a shield and only allowing themselves to be seen on interviews and television. Am I really excited that Raviv Ullman is now a pseudo-rapper? Or that I can see even more of Miley than the media already spews out left and right about her? Not really. But at least we all know that these celebs are people, just like everyone else.