When thinking about Amanda Bynes and her recent troubles, we could blame her upbringing or her parents or the fact that "she knew what she was getting into," but that would be too easy. If you peel back the layers enough, you begin to see the real problem: us. We are complicit in her downfall in some way, by supporting media outlets that treat her troubles like the finale of a television drama series (the cliffhanger of will she clean her act up or die trying) and by not confronting this schadenfreude monster within ourselves.

I confess that I was entranced by the media circus surrounding Amanda Bynes and would eagerly anticipate the next weird thing she would do. But things took a turn when she posted a video of herself getting ready for the night while eating a Sour Patch kid. There was something about the leap from still photos to video that emphasized the harsh reality of the situation. In the video, she looks really out of it, but, more importantly, she looks lost. And things have gotten even more out of control with her arrest for allegedly throwing a bong out of her apartment window. Things have entered the dangerous territory Amy Winehouse lived in before passing away at the age of 27 (Amanda Bynes' current age), the period right before either a major low point turns everything around or, in Winehouse's case, doesn't.

How do you solve a problem like Amanda Bynes? By solving the problem of why we support an entertainment industry that profits from the struggle and possible death of its stars. US Weekly and magazines of its kind are brainless fun for the plane or the pool, but it's time we thought about the true cost of this kind of entertainment. A friend recently asked me if I had heard about the latest thing Bynes had done. A few weeks ago, I would have exclaimed about how crazy and funny she is but, this time, my reply was different. This time, I said: "This isn't fun anymore."

Amanda BynesAmanda Bynes

Amanda Bynes, We Have Failed You