A leading adolescent psychologist has slammed Corey Worthington's inclusion in the Big Brother house as "child abuse".
Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, a specialist in teen mental health, has blasted Channel Ten, Corey's parents and his manager for allowing the 17-year-old to enter the controversial reality show house.
"I watched it last night, and I thought 'Why would anybody put a teenage kid in a goldfish bowl on the Gold Coast with a bunch of idiots'?" Dr Carr-Gregg told ninemsn.
"People profiting out of this … is tantamount to child abuse."
Corey became part of Big Brother on live television Sunday night as a special "houseguest".
Currently living with 17 housemates aged between 18 and 52, Corey has appeared uneasy and nervous during his time in the compound.
"His parents have been most unwise to allow this … you have to wonder if they've thought about the potential psychological damage that is going to be done to this boy," Dr Carr-Gregg said.
Several housemates have already clashed with the Melbourne boy, with Queensland student Bianca instructing the other contestants not to "give him more glory for being a tosser".
"Essentially, he's been taken away from his friends and his life and put in an artificial environment where everybody's watching him 24 hours a day," Dr Carr-Gregg said.
"If this was some type of social psychology experiment, it would be ruled unethical by any ethics committee in any university across the western world."
Big Brother, now in its eighth year, has struggled to recapture its dominant share of the ratings.
In a bid to freshen the format, long-serving host Gretel Killeen was axed for radio shock jocks Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O.
Last week, the show's first ever "little person" Rima was rushed out of the house and into hospital after breaking her leg while competing in a Friday Night Live contest.
And while Corey has stated that he wants his latest television experience to "change people's opinion of me", Dr Carr-Gregg believes it will only further damage his image.
"He's already up there on the ridicule stakes anyway, but I'd be amazed if this was going to enhance his credibility with his peers," Dr Carr-Gregg says.
"In the long term, you only have to think of Channel Nine and the Paxtons. They faded into oblivion, no one has ever heard about them again.
"I suspect that's what's also going to happen to this young man."ninemsn 6 MAy 2008
A professional idiot, in a house full of idiots, supported by Media Moguls, to influence our impressionable youth, nothing out of the ordinary there.
Just have to get over the fact that society is made up of all sorts, TRASH included.
A little while ago they'd fade away into nothing, whilst today they are glorified.
Lets make up nouveau excuses, and forget the fundamentals, that they're still TRASH
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