If you frequent the internet in any way, you will have seen the recent magazine spread that Harry Styles was a part of. The magazine “Runner’s World” recently did a spread as well as an article on Harry Styles in his running journey. The tagline for this being “Harry Styles is one of us”. What is so interesting about this statement is that he simply is not. Harry Styles is a record breaking artist who charges hundreds of dollars for attendance to go to one of his concerts. Society feels the need to bridge the gap between the average person and celebrities to make us feel better about maybe leading a simpler life. You will often catch people on social media forming parasocial relationships with people they will never know. Making jokes about “their close personal friend,” which seems like a harmless joke, but can and will escalate.
The use of TikTok and Instagram by these celebrities is meant to form a sense of connection between the artist and the fan. Society’s rapid descent in human connection creates a craving for it elsewhere. Celebrities and influencers use this to their advantage. They can make seemingly “relatable” posts that we can connect with. What they don’t mention to the general public is that they didn’t have to wake up until 11 this morning because they don’t have a job that requires them to. They don’t mention that they haven’t had a single financial worry in years because the money they make is more than what some people will see in their whole lives. They fail to mention that they have access to healthcare that most people won’t ever have. Celebrities make relatable content to hide from the fact that the gap between us is so vast, and they need us to forget it.
People, specifically on the internet, make little connections between themselves and the celebrities they love; this does not truly reflect the relationship they have. They say things like “well, I know he’d love this” or “oh, she’d never do that.” What is problematic about this is that you don’t actually know that. Celebrities have an internet persona that is not always the same as who they are when they are just “them the person,” not “them the celebrity”.
Anyone with any influence is aware of the power they have over their fans. They say things like “I’m just like you” to drive sales and make us less cognizant of the power dynamic that is happening. Celebrities are making money off of your engagement and views. They are funded by clickbait and parasocial relationships. Many of them profit from this and do not give back to the communities that essentially fund their lifestyle. While I don’t think that all celebrities are evil by any means, I do think that they are very aware of what they do with their time and money. Time and money are valuable to us all, and we need to be aware of that. The solution to this is not to hate celebrities but find a more neutral approach and remember that your interaction with this person will provide them with some sort of financial gain.