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As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 187,808 votes had been cast in a poll on the popular gossip site PerezHilton.com.

The yes or no question: Do you think Miley will remain a virgin till marriage?

The subject of their speculation, the star of Hannah Montana, is 15 years old, but could be seen in a picture posted on the site lying across a teenage boy with her shirt pulled up, and in another, exposing her bra – shots that were apparently first posted to MySpace.

Worrying over the sexualization of teenage girls is nothing new. Long before Brooke Shields showed us her Calvin Kleins, popular culture has been concerned with how we look at young women.

But since when has it become acceptable to obsess over the sex lives of teenagers?

Websites, tabloids and entertainment shows are filled with speculation over who teenage stars are dating, even though most of them aren't really old enough to date.

After reporting that Miley has inked a seven-figure book deal, a posting on the website TMZ declared: “if those saucy snaps are any indication, Volume Two should be a hell of a lot hotter.”

Um, ew.

Suddenly, it seems par for the course that grown-ups are comfortable discussing whether 18-year-old Hayden Panettiere has moved in with her 30-year-old co-star, or the fact that Harry Potter's Emma Watson flashed her panties as she celebrated turning 18 with her 25-year-old boyfriend.

This week's Star magazine features a paparazzi photo of 19-year-old Rumer Willis, daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, out on a date. Life&Style shows Jamie Lynn Spears, now 17, “struggling on her own.” Our obsessions with teenage drama queens extend even to 14-year-olds, such as Lindsay Lohan's younger sister, Ali, and the boys, too.

Did this troubling preoccupation start with the bizarre public countdown to the Olsen twins' 18th birthday or the news that Ms. Spears, then 16 years old, was knocked up?

Either way, grown ups of all ages seem to have little problem fixating on teenage drama.

A cover story of New York magazine defended Gossip Girl, which focuses on the highly sexed lives of rich New York teens, as the best television show ever, popular not only with kids, but with adults who have no problem wondering which character is really gay.

This endless devotion and speculation has extended to the show's off-screen drama.

“All-American good boy Chace Crawford was said to be dating American Idol's Carrie Underwood – and, for added spice, former boy-band member J.C. Chasez,” the article gushes.

Mr. Crawford, who is 22 but plays a teenage heartthrob on Gossip Girl, has been forced to deny rumours that he is gay after being photographed with Mr. Chasez.

Natalie Coulter, who is doing her PhD research at B.C.'s Simon Fraser University on the commodification of tweens, said it is not the teen behaviour that is changing, but public discourse surrounding it.

Young stars are as heavily marketed as their older counterparts, she said, making it seem acceptable to gossip about their lives, no matter how inappropriate the subject matter.

“With these tween sensations, where does the character end and where does the real person start? It's much more blurred,” she said. “And that blurring might be why we feel it's more appropriate to encroach into their private lives.”

Fortunately, not everyone believes this kind of prurient interest is healthy, for the public or the focus of its curiosity.

“Leave her alone,” reads one comment on the Perez Hilton poll about Miley. “She is only 15.”