Celebrity Culture, is truly poisonous?

Sometimes I truly despair at my generations, and our societies, complete obsession with celebrity culture and all of its factions. In the past I have found myself addicted to celebrity magazines, but after some serious culling I started to try and focus more on the news that has the potential to directly affect me. Then I wondered whether my interest in celebrity gossip warranted such a cull, is it truly a bad thing to find interest in others lives? Granted, some have an unnecessary addiction to finding every pap snap of their favourite celebrity. But not all of us are that engrossed in the lives of those in the more favoured areas of the world, like the ever-elusive Hollywood. Is it natural to find an interest in the lives of those who star in the films and the TV shows we are addicted to? Is it unhealthy, or impractical? Should it be frowned upon?

It is often considered, by those with an overriding interest in world news instead of high society, that our largely celebrity obsessed culture heavily impacts us and taints the minds of the younger, rising generation. With a heavy reliance on social media our society has swiftly changed in the last thirty years, with people seeing celebrity as a career, not just an addition to specific career choices. Social media has developed into a form of communication between celebrities and their fan base. Therefore I understand the frustration of some celebrities having their lives intruded upon, but why do some invite it in or their social media accounts? And how much does this impact on our generations, and the future generations?

For one it definitely gives rise to the online stalker. Who will more than likely never face justice for any length of aggressive action due to the anonymity of the internet. Many have a compulsive need to know every move of the idealised versions of their favourite celebrity. Media is used to twist the images of every celebrity until their loyal fans are pushed to truly believe in them, hence the power of there following in advertising. It’s scarily easy to find out every detail of an actor’s life. Therefore I do pity celebrities from the point of view of the way the paparazzi stalk them in order to snap that one photo of their cellulite to lord over the public. If that isn’t unhealthy I don’t know what is. We live in a society where more often than not people’s belief in their romanticised celebs is stronger than any religious faith they may have.

Do you find that a little scary? I didn’t until I started thinking about how many times I’ve Googled a celebrity, or how much time I spend obsessing over celebrities that I realised how embedded in your life this society is. Every faction of our lives is saturated with every move of the famous people that top our social hierarchy. I long for a day when people harbour more interest in the social, political and economical issues of our present instead of whose dating whom in the celebrity world.

Not to say that an interest in celebrity culture makes an individual unintelligent or ignorant, but it leaves me to question whether our addiction will damage generations after our own. Will they completely lose interest in the politics and society that will shape our future? This is particularly demonstrated through the rise of the YouTuber celebrity, with millions taking to You Tube to get their entertainment fix it’s unsurprising that events such as Vid Con and Summer in the City are fuelling the rise of the ‘internet famous’. A new generation of celebrity who are taking the potential of the Internet to whole new levels, manipulating their influence for many a good cause. They have proved that to be a successful musician, filmmaker, or YouTuber does not necessarily need the input of a major corporation in order to succeed. Portraying the potential that celebrity culture has in advancing the invention and innovation of whole new careers that could lead to the evolution of the media industry.

So perhaps an interest in celebrity gossip isn’t so bad, as long as you aren’t stalking his or her every twitter post, and front page sell out story I don’t think anyone’s going to begrudge you your little fascination.  I’m just a little apprehensive of the potential of those who could take advantage of the millions of fans who watch them, and manipulate this new found media based society in a significantly negative way. But, in the same context positive changes could be effective in promoting positive treatment of social media and an awareness of the world around us. The problem with the growth of the Internet, and social medias ability to reach a wider audience is the thin line between the positive use of it, and the abuse of it. It is nigh on impossible to control, much like people’s addiction to celebrity. How can we control something that can’t be measured? I just wish that the addiction to celebs wasn’t always considered to be so ugly. It certainly doesn’t make a person unintelligent, but I also believe that a person should at least attempt to maintain an interest in the issues that also affect their society as a whole, not just the celebrities at the top of it.