The Obsession with Celebrities

In society today celebrities have become an overwhelmingly part of many people’s lives that they have lost touch with the harsh life of reality. Actors, singers, sports heroes, and models have dominated our television screens, radio stations, magazines, commercials, and the internet making them as though they have become a part of our own lives by the constant news and appearance. We live in a celebrity obsessed age that there’s even a term known for it as Celebrity Worship syndrome which is an addictive disorder.

The syndrome has three stages. The first is a healthy interest in celebrities that is a type of distraction, but also has a social role because it encourages interaction with a large number of people in the room. The second stage is addiction and here the victim can withdraw from reality and begin to find accomplishment in stories about their favourite celebrity rather than social interaction. The third stage borders on pathological which are Obsessive behaviour and celebrity stalkers found at the extreme end.

Bill Tancer, an internet search analyser suggests that the internet has taken our interest in celebrities to another new level. Contents like blogs, Youtube, MySpace and twitter that are characterised as web 2.0 makes it easy for people to access sites where they can read and watch their favourite celebrity. Tancer says that research shows that there are 25 million internet users around the world. Celebrities have become very influential on our generation of youths today that it seems like they have become bigger than religion. U.K Sociology professor Chris Rojek says that celebrities are gradually supplanting religion in our modern lives. Due to organised religions that have collapsed the absence of having saints or a God to look up to for many people in Western societies is being filled by celebrity culture.

Many people view that celebrities are potential role models that our young youths can look up to and be inspired by their accomplishments and successes and if you want to get ahead in life you have to in some way make yourself stand out in the crowd. What about doctors, nurses, freedom leaders, fire fighters, lawyers. Aren't they good role models that children should look up to. The circus of celebrity is the creation of the media. The media are the ones who are constantly bombarding the public with the latest images, gossip and news about famous celebrities and feeding our appetite and we are left urging for something new and the media can provide us this fulfilment for our constant hunger for some new event in celebrity culture.

The Medias obsession with celebrities can be seen on television programs like Entertainment tonight, MTV, C4TV, where the life of the rich and famous can be seen on a daily basis and continuing to feed those who have become obsessed with celebrities themselves. The biggest news that broke out was the death of Michael Jackson and is still the most talked about topic. He passed away 3 months ago and it caused such a worldwide media frenzy that it was constantly in the news, magazines, newspapers, and the internet.

This story was the biggest because of his status as a world icon and his career which influenced millions around the world and arguably the greatest entertainer that ever lived. On morning news like Sunrise and channel one Good Morning dedicated an hour special to the historical event and then only 10 minutes for the news. Our very civilisation is threatened by the cult of celebrities and the fact that mere entertainers have become our heroes.

In America today there are mainstream televised awards ceremony for anything other than movies, music, modelling. When brave soldiers who fight in war to protect their country are awarded the medal of honour for their bravery it is not broadcasted. When the President of America awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to leading thinkers, writers and civil servants it is most likely to be watched by about 10 people. But when there are awards for the best actors and best artists, it is watched by hundreds of millions around the world. Consequently many people and the youths of today would rather read about Britney’s meltdown at a salon rather than learning about past significant people who have helped shaped the world as it is today. Celebrities every move is recorded and broadcasted into our homes whether we would like to watch it or not.

Another reason for celebrity obsession is that many people are motivated for following them because of boredom, dissatisfaction, and loneliness. To some the troubles of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie seem more real than their own ordinary lives that they lose touch with their own community. People watch the glamorous lives of the rich and famous in order to distract themselves from the harsh realities of life like the recession, the war in Iraq and the constant bad news they watch on television.

In conclusion the obsession with celebrities today has escalated to a whole new level. People need to realise that there are much more important problems that’s happening around the world rather than the problems of Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton. By making fashion models into role models and singers into saints, this has led to creating a shallow and vain society eminent not by sacrifice, but by extravagance and not by the gift of lasting love but by the gleam of the spotlight. We have created a culture known not for virtue, but vanity.

Reference Web List

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Feeding Frenzy for Celeb-Obsessed Public. (2009). Retrieved 22 September, 2009,
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Are Celebrities bigger than religion. (2009). Retrieved 22 September, 2009, www.stuff.co.nz/domionion-post/entertainment

American Obsession with Celebrity causes blind eye to reality. (2009). Retrieved 22 September, 2009, www.chelm.freeyellow.com/celebrity

Flora, C. (2004). Seeing by Starlight: Celebrity Obsession. Retrieved 22 September, 2009, www.psychologytoday.com

Boteach, S. (2009). Dangerously Obsessed with Celebrities. Retrieved 01 September, 2009, www.jpost.com

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Introduction: The media's obsession with celebrities!!!

The media today are so obsessed with the lives of celebrities that they are constantly updating the latest news of famous celebrities on the news, magazines and the internet. The papparazi photographers are getting paid extremely ridiculous amounts of money to get exclusive photos of famous celebrities. I will be exploring the reasons why the media are so obsessed with celebrities and this is influencing society today. But also the tradegy of the death of Princess Diana when they were trying to get away from Papparazi's which led to her fatal death. No lesson has been learned because today the media are exploding to another whole level. The papparazi's are following and stalking celebrities all day and its really sad as seen in the video below of Britney being taken to hospital. All thanks to the media the whole world knew about this incident.

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Hey guys

You ever wondered why the media are so obsessed with celebrities? Wel i decided i wanted to do research on why the media are obsessed with the lives of celebrities. They media are making thousands by writing about the latest news on celebrites and they can also be seen on t.v, magazines, internet and so on. Like the death of Michael Jackson caused such a worldwide media frenzy they were following the story from the day news broke out that he died. Everyone wanted to know the latest gossip on what was happening. I mean the media are always talking about the latest event like the MTV awards and millions of people will be tuned in to see it while those soldiers being honoured with a medal wont even be broadcasted.

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