Not necessarily.
http://www.makikoitoh.com/journal/me...ommon_in_japan
I'm with frecklegirl on this one. I am in no way a "gossip whore" myself, and tend to tune that stuff out when encountered in the general media, or at least treat it as an amusing freak show for a minute or two and move on.
I trust that most if not all of us here are respectfully-minded about Shiina and her private life, but we are also, understandably, curious. Just as we usually are interested in the biographies of historical figures we may be interested in. For the most part, this is an innocent, and human, trait. We want to know and understand what and how life changes affect people we follow closely.
If there is "tabloid" level stuff floating around, where else but on a forum such as this to address the reality, if there is any, behind it?
Who knows who this kid is, though.