It’s time to admit that we all love reading about celebrity drama. But, is it really something we should be doing? Don’t get me wrong, I love reading about how Blake Lively is due for her fourth child and seeing the latest Kardashian trends, but is it fair to them that we’re the reasons why there’s a business surrounding celeb drama?
Celeb Drama Is Bad
If you thought this was going to be an article about condoning celeb drama, think again. I am 100% without a doubt against it, and I’ve researched why we love it so much. That’s what I want to share why we love it so much — and how we can reduce it.
Escape
Some reasons why we enjoy it so much is to escape our own lives. Who else is guilty of diving into magazines, wishing they were a gorgeous actress sailing in a beautiful ocean somewhere other than their desk? It’d be silly if we said we haven’t done that. While escaping is totally okay and a great method of relieving stress, there are plenty of books and podcasts out there for us to do that with.
I’m not saying we can’t ever hear anything about celebrities, but maybe if we let paparazzis know that we don’t really care what grocery store Nicole Kidman shops at on Tuesdays, they’ll ease up and help make the lives of these superstars a little better.
Psychology
Like most things, there’s a psychology behind why we love this type of drama. It starts out with gossip. This can be your everyday gossip about the latest trends or something your friend wore — totally neutral gossip that is harmless. According to Evie on “The Scientific Reason Why We’re Obsessed With Celebrity Drama,” it is the glue that binds social groups together. But when it starts getting to the negative gossip, that’s where we have issues.
Evie also mentioned that not all gossip is interesting gossip, such as hearing about a professor winning an award. Not many people would be interested in that, except for maybe me because I think having a professor who has awards under their belt is pretty cool.
The main psychology behind it all is that we get a great feeling when we see celebrities doing embarrassing things. On the screens, they always look flawless, so it gives us a chance to connect with them and see that they’re human, too. An example is when Britney Spears had her umbrella incident. I grew up loving her and didn’t even know about the incident until my teenage years, which is when I started getting major anger issues. Realizing that my all-time favorite celeb had them, too, was great for me. But, I realized that it was a stressful time for her, and having videos and pictures everywhere like that for the rest of her life must really be heartbreaking.
How Do We Stop It?
Obviously it takes more than one person to stop the negative celeb gossip that we experience, but it always starts with one person. I have so many other things to do than read the latest cheating scandal, although Adam Levine — you’re on lots of women’s bad lists now.
I use my time to read more books or listen to podcasts. It’s much more relaxing than reading a bunch of drama, because it doesn’t make me feel bad for them. I highly suggest doing these either way, because it’s always great for the mind!