Celebrities are a huge part of our culture. Everywhere we look, there are famous people. The Kardashian kraze, mobs surrounding popular athletes like Steph Curry, actors being stalked by paparazzi, the list goes on. But we haven’t stopped to think, is this bad?
These people are put on a pedestal and their lives are held under a magnifying glass for the entire public to see. Celebrities are all normal people, but their lives become obsessions. Did you ever stop to wonder why almost every celebrity has a security guard? Being under the public’s eye, obsession and scrutiny, can be dangerous both physically and mentally.
Our current culture is so obsessed with celebrities the term Celebrity Worship Syndrome has started to be used. The term is described by Psychology Today as “an obsessive-addictive disorder where an individual becomes overly involved and interested (i.e., completely obsessed) with the details of the personal life of a celebrity.”
But how often do we really question people’s obsession with celebrities? We have allowed it to become normal to complete engulf ourselves in someone’s life. So much so that tabloids that print ridiculous headlines with scandals and affairs and divorces are read just as much, if not more, than real news.
Why is Taylor Swift bleaching her hair a headline? Why are famous women constantly being asked if they are pregnant? It has gotten to the point where the Huffington Post, a place people trust for news, has created a section called “HuffPost Celebrity” which has the description of “Find out which celebs are engaged, divorced, pregnant or simply caught by the paparazzi with the latest celebrity pics, breaking news and viral videos.”
That is disgusting. Imagine you are living your life and everything you do is reported on, and frequently, in a negative light.
What if every time you binged on chocolate ice cream after a bad day, a picture of you in pj’s with a tub of ice cream was on magazine racks in every grocery store across the country? What if you were going through a very personal, difficult breakup and suddenly everyone and their mothers knew about it? It would certainly drive me into a depression.
On the other hand, it it’s healthy for us to be obsessed with celebrities either. Young women constantly compare ourselves to what we see, and right now what we see are these celebrities. No, my butt will never be like Kim K’s, and no I will never be as thin as Taylor Swift, and I certainly will never get attention like Scarlett Johansson does. But here’s the thing: I don’t want any of those things. I’m happy just the way I am, and if I let celebrity images affect my self esteem, I will never be happy. But that’s the problem: young girls, teenagers, and even adult women are constantly compared to these impossible standards. You have to separate yourself from the crazy circus that is celebrity culture, and see how toxic it is.
At the end of the day, no one benefits from celebrity obsession. The celebrities themselves get their lives dragged out in front of every media outlet, and we compare ourselves to impossible standards. So, yes, you can still buy the Kylie Lip Kit, and yes, you can still fangirl over your favorite actor, but when it starts to become a serious obsession, learn to take a step back.