The social media phenomenon is the combination of a good sleep and a podcast, with stories narrated by Hollywood stars. But how far can admiration go?
After the ASMR moment, the newest hit on the internet is the so-called sleepcast. Similar to the calming tone ASMR has, the new sensation consists of sleeping stories told by celebrities such as Harry Styles, Anne Hathaway and Emma Thompson. The real start was in 2020, when Harry Styles gave life to a story on the meditation app Calm. The app even crashed on the announcement day.
For quite a while we have been familiar with them, but they are just now reaching a peak in the market. With apps like Headspace, Audible Sleep Stories and SoundSleep, you can get some rest from celebrities like Nicole Kidman to John Legend. Although these episodes seem to actually work and provide a calm space for people to fall asleep, what is too much? Are we really so obsessed with celebrities like that?
Our interest in celebrities and where it started
Culturally, people always found someone to idealize: a big sister, a cool cousin, or just a neighbor who dressed well. But with the creation of mass culture with wild capitalism, the obsession only grew bigger. From Jean Harlow‘s heavily copied blond hair, Rachel Green’s haircut and today’s Hailey Bieber’s nails, it makes us question how much individuality we really have.
Not only do we idealize celebrities, we also rely on paparazzi to catch their every step, patiently waiting for reasons to compare with actual millionaires and how they go out grocery shopping. Sure it’s only a human tendency to compare ourselves or to copy something, but when it comes to a point where pastel blue nails get called the viral blueberry milk nails that Sabrina Carpenter has, is when original ideas stop existing.
The real impact of Pinterest: are we losing ideas?
In a globalized world with a massively influential media, we get constantly in direct contact with ways we might be better, dress cooler or look prettier. And most of the time, celebrities are the examples we are given. Actions like searching Madison Beer on Pinterest to see all of her streetstyle and try to copy one, because she is so pretty and looks so cool in that outfit is a perfect real example of our behavior.
Inspiration is something great and nobody is safe from admiring someone, but inspiration is also adaptation, and that is the key to growth. The problem lies when we take out our value and put it into someone else, because they are just like us, but better. And sometimes, not even the ones we look up to are safe from this.
Media pressure and beauty ideals
Marilyn Monroe, one of the sexiest and most beautiful women in Hollywood history, copied her frosty blond hair from another Hollywood actress, the great Jean Harlow, in order to look more of a star, in the 1950s beauty ideals. If not even Marylin had the so-called “it factor”, how can we feel like we are worthy? Media of all times has always put pressure on the public, especially women, but finding the real responsible for this problem seems impossible, once it is human tendency to compare.
When people came out of their shells
But sometimes, real history was made when someone was completely out of their shells. Like the brilliantly creative Vivianne Westwood, who made her name by taking inspiration from old pieces of clothing and old arts, like corsets with the 1700s painter François Boucher´s frame printed. Or Madonna, who broke the status-quo of the 1980s when she released Like a Virgin, paving the way for the younger generation of women in music.
To sum up
Celebrities and sleepcasts may be fun to catch up with, but our obsession has come a little too far gone. Inspiration and admiration are all great feelings, and it should be where it ends, leaving us space to have fun reading magazines and looking celebrities up, while still maintaining our individual and original ideas.
The article above was edited by Duda Kabzas.
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