Interesting take on Justin Bieber in Deadspin from the guy who did this month’s GQ cover story on him: “One of the strange things about his life is that he seems to be surrounded by adults at all times. He arrived at the studio surrounded by adults. His two closest friends are much older than him. This is not normal for an 18-year-old. When you’re 18, you’re usually hanging out with your peers, either at school or smoking weed in the alley behind the Red Lobster. The adults you encounter are usually authority figures: parents, teachers, your boss at Dick’s Sporting Goods, etc. And most of them are assholes to you.

“But Bieber’s life is nothing like that. He hasn’t been inside a school in five years (he told me he didn’t miss school and that he got too easily distracted in class). The adults around him treat him like a peer, or often a superior. They wait around for him. They try and get an audience with him. As it stands now, Bieber is a perfectly nice guy. Sure, he’s flaky, and brash, and a touch vacant. Still, I don’t think most people would fault an 18-year-old for acting like an 18-year-old. But I don’t know if he has the right system around him to move PAST that. He’s not gonna go to college (would you?). He’s not gonna have to get an entry-level job and eat shit for a few years. And he lives in a celebrity culture that amounts to a nonstop circle jerk. This happens to a lot of young stars, be it musicians, actors, or sports figures (hi, LeBron!). They become so successful so young that they skip the stage where you become a fully functional adult. And I don’t know if you can recover from that.

“But hey, the kid’s got plenty of money and pussy, so more power to him.”