A five-year-old girl looks in the mirror. She thinks she is fat. She thinks she looks different. She believes she doesn’t fit in. She wonders how she can look normal. Yet the same five-year-old girl to anyone else looks perfectly healthy and adorable.

So why so much self-doubt? Could it be the Disney Princess?

You’re sitting in a crowded stadium and, all of a sudden, a rivalry team fight breaks out. These fans seem barbaric and the tension is real. Where are you? No, you are not at a U.S. college football game – you’re at a European F.C. match.

Child pornography laws exist for the vital purpose of protecting minors from predators. But when these laws criminalize, humiliate, and permanently damage the reputation of a child as a repercussion of unintentional actions, these laws become problematic. Especially regarding sexting. 

Gardiens are a vital part of Parisian life. They first appeared as a replacement for maids and servants after World War II, when homeowners and tenants of high social standing needed someone to do their handy work, like delivering mail, handling garbage, and cleaning apartments, hallways and courtyards. Instead of having individual maids occupying the many chambres de bonnes, or maid rooms, tucked away on the top floor of Parisian buildings, residents decided to centralize these responsibilities with a gardien or gardienne.

Shapely legs balanced in elegant heels glide across a wooden floor. The camera pulls out to reveal more of the scene. At first, only the backs of lush manes of long hair are visible. A model gives the camera a coquettish smile.

Intrigued, I ignore the ad’s “skip” feature and let the video continue. Soon the models’ faces are entirely revealed. Strong jaw lines and lowbrow bones are thinly camouflaged with faux eyelashes and bangs. Suddenly, I realize that these models were men. This is a commercial for Magnum ice cream.

Living in Cleveland for four years, I attended countless sporting events. While it may not be the most ideal time-out activity, I always got a little giggle when spotting people pucker up for the kiss cam. However, due to a few—and by few, I actually mean two—politically correct individuals, it seems the kiss cam may be near the end of its days.  

Nathalie Halcro (girlfriend of Shaun Phillips) and her cousin/best friend Olivia Pierson -- currently known for their new reality TV series “Wags” (Wives and Girlfriends of Sports) on E! -- are excellent examples of American pop culture’s current beauty standard -- especially for their contour makeup. 

All those wedding-related Facebook updates every Monday are becoming despairingly routine: engagement announcements, engagement photos, bridal showers, bachelorette parties, the actual wedding, even the honeymoon.

Okay we get it. They are starting a new chapter in their lives with one or two years of social media activity leading up to the big event. It’s understandable. But it’s also a sad generational trend that lacks authenticity. And it's so typical of a generation widely considered to be essentially narcissistic.

Last week my mother sent me a text regarding my upcoming birthday. The word “present” was replaced by a small wrapped present emoji and finished off with a period like any other sentence.

I would never have thought twice about a text like this, but this was from the fingers of my less-than-tech-savvy mother. Texts from my mom and Instagram photos captioned only in symbols show how much emoji have penetrated our language system.