Texting, Justin Bieber's Haircut - Which is More Important?

Source: Chris McKay/ Getty Images

My goodness. So much to do over a young pop star's new haircut, when the focus should be on 1) his music and connection to a broad audience {see my concert review here, a shared experience with my young daughter,} and 2) his public advocacy for the dangers of texting and driving.

This is another example of the responsibility of celebrities in conveying important messages to the public. If done properly, these messages can have both broad and effective impact.

Such messages can illuminate, confuse or misinform the public. In this case, when a pop star has more than 22 million followers on his Facebook, that's some serious candlepower if the illumination is used appropriately.

According to MTV:

Justin Bieber will make a surprise appearance on the feel-good ABC show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on Sunday. In the episode, the singer meets the Brown family of Wellman, Texas, who are helping raise awareness about the dangers of texting and driving after their eldest daughter Alex was affected by it.

The episode was shot back in November, according to AceShowbiz.com, and in it, Bieber not only pledges to give back to the cause, but also makes daughter Katrina Brown and her friends' day with some one-on-one time.

"So I'm really glad you guys can come. Every night we have a banner that goes up and it says 'don't text and drive' so every night all these kids see it so it definitely means a lot to me as well," he told the family. "We're gonna give $1 from every ticket sold to your cause. I always do this sound-check party and I wanted to invite you guys to come and hang out."

"I did not know what to do," Katrina admits in the preview clip for the two-hour episode, which also features Emma Roberts and NASCAR drivers Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle. "I did not know how to react."

Bieber also opens up a bit more about joining the cause. "It's been a big part of my life to influence others not to text and drive," he explained. "And every night when I perform, I have a video that comes up and it says 'don't text and drive' and it's me driving. It's just really important to me."

The encounter will also reportedly be featured in Bieber's upcoming 3-D flick, "Never Say Never." In a trailer released earlier this month, Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, opened up about how lucky he feels. "Me and the guy from 'Extreme Home Makeover' have the best jobs in the world," Braun explains in the new clip. "It's actually the most gratifying thing about the job. Little things go a very long way. You get paid to just make other people happy."

Bieber isn't the only pop star who works with the cause. The Jonas Brothers are also avid spokesmen for Allstate's "X the Text" campaign. "We're a part of the X the Text campaign with our sponsor Allstate, which is an amazing thing," Kevin Jonas told MTV News back in August. "So many teen drivers and drivers out there have accidents texting while driving, and it's such a [great] thing to bring awareness to this."