The life of a paparazzo is an interesting one.
Last semester, a friend and I once shamelessly stalked Adam Lambert on the set of his video shoot at a downtown LA hotel. I blended in with his dancers perfectly, dressed in a black tank, leather jacket and combat boots. We waited around, befriending a pack of 30-year-old men armed with expensive cameras. Stuffing their faces during wait time hoping to snap a peek at Mr. Lambert as he flocked from his trailer, the ravenous photographers were professionals at maneuvering tight spaces, illegally crossing streets and capturing a steady shot. Even after months of skilled celebrity stalking myself, it definitely wasn’t easy work. “Do you like your job?” We asked sincerely. The man nodded, explaining how his profession, though not traditional, is relevant to our culture, to our city and the world. He said he is proud of what he does. Especially in LA where the demand is brimming, our desire to observe the lives of the rich and famous through photographs has become much like a social and (pop) cultural necessity. But what’s interesting is that our roles as observers don’t end with the glitzy socialites and sparkly Hollywood elite.
While paparazzi snapping in LA is widely prevalent, the interest in regular “stalking” boils down to everyday you and me, as evidenced by the heavy levels of Facebook, Twitter and other social media consumption on college campuses. With the details of our day-to-days chronicled through the explosion of new media platforms, the concept of living life in the public eye is quite possible for virtually anybody. What fun! Or not. As we tweet away and post every embarrassing picture we have of ourselves online, we’ve poked fun at our friends and built relationships on the Internet. Sounds like no harm done? But through the same actions, we’ve also seen how the elimination of privacy due to our excessive social media presences can sometimes be damaging. As college students, what we don’t realize is that often the photographic and textual skeletons left in our (Facebook) closets could use a great deal of cleaning up. Take Hollywood for example. The ill-kept trails of famous cheaters, such as Tiger Woods and Sandra Bullock’s husband Jesse James, have fallen into the wrong hands because of the growing public accessibility to technology.
As the Hollywood cliché now tells us, evidence of disloyal transgressions can easily be traced through saved text messages or photos that were left undeleted. In the same vein, Facebook pictures of us surrounded by red cups, upside down drinking from a keg stand and in arms of someone other than our significant others could come back to haunt us. The black hole of the Internet might not always swallow up our past, and our use of technology should not always be taken lightly. We’ve heard the horror stories.After all, an ill-placed Facebook comment or tweet could catch the eyes of a potential employer lurking on your profile or even worse, of your parents. While the social media circle can be fun, it can also be quite vicious. Don’t give the rest of world ammo to bring you down. Living in the public eye can be tough — maybe we’re better leaving the paparazzi and the real stalking to celebrities.
I’m Chris, a L.A. blogger, music publicity intern, journalist and unabashed pop culture nut. Follow along as I pull the veil from Tinseltown and give HerCampus readers the enchanting reality of living the L.A. dream. Pick my brain at agutos@usc.edu.