What do you want to be when you are older? In childhood, many of us secretly nurse hopes of becoming stars - celebrity singers, dancers, actors. A life of celebrity promises glamour, popularity and great riches.

But for those exclusive few who live the dream, the spotlight can too easily become a prison. Stalked by paparazziPhotographers who take photos of celebrities as they go about their normal lives to sell to newspapers and magazines., hounded by the gutter press and zealouslyWith great energy or enthusiasm. scrutinised by fans, there is no turning back to a normal life.

Liam Payne, who rose to fame as a teenager after turning heads on British talent show The X Factor, was one of fame's victims. He dreamed of celebrity from a young age in his Wolverhampton bedroom with bunny rabbit curtains. On Wednesday, he died falling from the balcony of his hotel room after a long struggle with fame.

Payne was a member of the superstar pop boy band One Direction. He first auditioned solo for The X Factor in 2008, aged 14, but only struck gold in 2010 when he was invited to join a new pop group formed by music executive Simon Cowell.

Cowell created One Direction by bringing together five aspiring singers: Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne. The group placed third in the show, but soon skyrocketed to global fame, becoming one of the best-selling boy music groups of all time.

They played more than 300 shows, sold out four world tours, made four albums that hit No.1 on the Billboard 200, and won 28 Teen Choice Awards. They inspired a vast fandom made up of millions of - mostly teenage - devotees.

It was the kind of success that Payne, as a bright-eyed 14-year-old taking a taxi to The X Factor auditions, could only have dreamed of. But beneath the glittering veneer, unrest began to surface. Fame's demands were heavy, the tabloids were ruthless, and the pressure to release new music was intense.

In 2015, Malik left the group, saying "I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight." In 2016, the rest of the group went on indefinite hiatus.

Payne later revealed that at the height of the band's fame he had struggled with substance abuse and mental health problems. After his rise to celebrity he struggled with agoraphobia - the fear of leaving his house.

And many of his struggles were documented at length on social media and in the tabloids. One celebrity news site posted pictures purporting to show the body of the singer after his death.

Payne is not the first victim of early celebrity. Britney Spears¹, Demi Lovato² and Justin Bieber have all opened up about the ruinous effects of becoming famous as teenagers, from exploitation by studios to harassment by fans.

Child stars are treated as commodities to generate as much profit as possible, they say, not as vulnerable people to be protected.

And it is a tale almost a century old. Shirley Temple, the cherubicHaving the innocence and plump prettiness of a young child. three-year-old singer, dancer and actress who shot to fame in 1931, later shared examples of horrific abuse by exploitative studio executives.

Judy Garland, the actress and singer who made it big as a teenager in the 1930s, later described being prescribed amphetamines by her studio to stay awake so she could work longer hours, and barbiturates so she could go to sleep.

Does pop exploit children?

Yes: Children in the pop industry are treated as cash cows, made to work long hours and undergo huge stress to make a profit. There needs to be far better protection, and studios and press alike need to undergo more scrutiny in their treatment of child celebrities.

No: There are plenty of happy and well-adjusted former child stars who have continued their fruitful careers long into adulthood. There will always be people who struggle with fame, and people in their close circle should ensure that they are safeguarded, but it is not an endemicCommon to a particular place or community. fault in the industry.

Or... Child stars in every industry should be banned. Children's brains are not fully developed and they cannot make rational decisions about what level of fame or scrutiny they want to live with for the rest of their lives.

Paparazzi - Photographers who take photos of celebrities as they go about their normal lives to sell to newspapers and magazines.

Zealously - With great energy or enthusiasm.

Cherubic - Having the innocence and plump prettiness of a young child.

Endemic - Common to a particular place or community.