Paris Hilton

UNITED STATES—Something popped into my working brain recently and I couldn’t help, but facilitate a conversation around the issue.  Why are we as a culture so concerned with reporting and knowing what celebrities are doing? Is it because the media reports it or is it the possibility that we have a keen interest in it? I would argue that it’s a mix of both, but the more perplexing question is why such the obsession?
Celebrities are placed on pedestals time and time again, and they shouldn’t be. They are normal people just like us.  They work, they eat, they sleep, they party, some have kids, they have bills.  Nothing differs them from us, except for the media spotlight or glitz as some would call it.  Heck, I know probably a few hundred celebs who would be completely thrilled to see the media spotlight disappear altogether to gain some anonymity.  So why do we continue to use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the Internet to keep a daily track on what our ‘favorite’ celebs are doing?

Maybe it provides some sort of purpose to those with the mundane lifestyle, perhaps its a job of ours, but what does reporting about that celebrity really do for a person? In my opinion, nothing!  I’m certain there is no adrenaline rush, if anything its more of an opportunity to draw traffic to a website and perhaps get some businesses to show an interest in doing advertising because of the popularity contest.  It really isn’t news when a celebrity loses a ton of weight is it?  What about whose hooking up with whom?  Who stopped to grab a bite to eat or perhaps who was caught exercising or running errands?

Hey America, we all do these things so it’s really not news, so why are we so obsessed with reporting it?  The scary thing is its become a staple in the news arena.  Its apart of the daily pointers.  If something will garner attention or attract viewers or hits to the site, we should be covering it. When something of newsworthy quality hits the desk it’s not always covered in the manner that it should be. Important stories are being brushed away to report things that really will not have an impact in our overall lives.

It’s ENTERTAINMENT. I guess as a culture we find ourselves a bit entertained to learn about such things as we feel a bit of a connection to this individual who we think has a higher status than us.  On an income level, likely, in terms of importance, not so much.  Celebrity stardom is a sub-culture of pop culture itself. Knowing whose doing what, where, when and why, makes some of us feel like walking encyclopedias.

Its not that we care, its our ability to start a conversation; sometimes its difficult to pick the brain of someone without discussing something that may connect both parties as one.  We’re now following our favorite celebs every move with Facebook, Twitter and Instragram, before you know they’ll be some app that allows us to track their destinations or hot spots.  The obsession is getting crazy and its time that we put the brakes on things.

By Trevor Roberts