We see them in the news, dominating social media, and influencing fashion. It would not be an understatement to say that celebrities rule the world we live in. But why do so many of us obsess over celebrities, especially those who have done nothing particularly extraordinary?
One reason is clear in the case of those who seemed to have “earned” their fame. We idolize and admire their remarkable talent. Because of these remarkable talents, we tend to set higher standards for them in all aspects. If a celebrity is a phenomenal tennis player, then we expect them to be better than the average person; we start believing these people to be more intelligent, polite, and trustworthier. As a result of this, we try to follow in the footsteps of these celebrities, perhaps in an effort to feel as “perfect” as they are.
However, placing celebrities on this untouchable pedestal is unfair and unrealistic. It sets them up for failure which leads to the widespread news and panic when they don’t meet the expectations set by the people. This is where the fascination toward gossip about celebrities originates from.
Because of the high standards of the people, celebrities attempt to please us by undergoing plastic surgery and layering filters on their pictures in order to achieve a physical appearance that is extraordinary compared to the normal man or woman. Yet, celebrities can’t even obtain this level of perfection that we expect, and this stress can lead them to rely on drugs or other unhealthy coping methods to relieve the stress, perpetuating this cycle of expectations since drug use results in heavy criticism.
Another stage of adoration comes from a feeling of closeness with a celebrity. People feel like they have somewhat of a relationship with a star because they constantly see them on their phone or TV. This sense of familiarity and commitment makes us want to know what us happening in their lives.
We love celebrities because of how important they are in today’s society. We give them a status that towers over ours and expect greatness from them as they have shown us greatness in some regard already. Because they’re so exceptional, they serve as role models for those growing up, or as examples of what we should be. This leads us to want to follow their lives, making us feel like we know the celebrity.
Idolizing a celebrity in this way isn’t necessarily bad. They serve as entertainment and examples of greatness that inspire us to do better. The problem arises when we feel negatively about ourselves when comparing ourselves to a celebrity, or when our fascinations toward their lives disrupts our own lives. A change in our perspectives towards celebrities seems to be beneficial. Instead of placing them on a pedestal, we need to fully understand and accept that celebrities are normal people like us, except with high-profile jobs. Instead of seeing them as models of perfection to compare ourselves to, we should focus on improving ourselves by realizing that comparing ourselves to them is meaningless. We should appreciate the imperfections within both ourselves and celebrities.
