by Shelby Jurca
Staff Writer
Celebrity. According to Webster, it means “a famous or well-known person.” Movie stars, actresses, singers and songwriters – why do they matter so much to us? Why do shows like “TMZ”, “Entertainment Tonight” and “Access Hollywood” even exist? The paparazzi, when you think about it, is pointless.
The paparazzi spend their time chasing celebrities and trying to create scandals that rarely exist. If the world wasn’t so obsessed with celebrities, the paparazzi could have done different things with their lives to help the community. Instead of demeaning stars, they could be lifting up the ones that do good things for society.
Celebrities’ lives are full of glamour and fame, and everyone wants to be them. Many think because they were once just like us, we can become them. In a way, the public believes chasing after stars and documenting their every move will help regular people uncover the secret of becoming a superstar.
Envy plays a big part in celebrity obsession as well. They’re rich, powerful and fabulous and the common man is jealous. This is yet another reason that we follow celebrities around like lost puppies, trying to find a flaw in their perfection complex. When we unmask a so-called scandal or celebrity secret, it makes us feel better about ourselves for finding a flaw in the people we envy.
Students spend so much time obsessing over celebrities they lose sight of what’s really important. They put off their homework – or simply don’t do it – to look up the latest news on their favorite Hollywood hotshots. One of the saddest things is that kids are spending more time obsessing over celebrities than they do with their families. Yes, guys, the most important thing in life is finding out that “Brad and Angelina had a fight” or “Justin Bieber got a new hair cut.” Psych.
Society needs a reality check. Celebrities aren’t gods, but they’re not demons either. Putting them on a pedestal or demeaning them isn’t productive; it’s trivial. They’re human beings, just like everyone else. They were just provided with different opportunities than the majority of the population.
You can’t harass and bully them because they have something you don’t. It makes sense to get upset with celebrities for doing something morally wrong, but when people are creeping around the streets trying to catch a picture of a celebrity picking their nose, capturing a photo is a waste of time and pointless torment of a human being.
However, what about the celebrities that have a hunger for attention? There are some that glow when their face is on the front of a tabloid. For the most part, this select few are the ones that are not famous for any particular talents, but just for being them. The Kardashians, Paris Hilton, the cast of Jersey Shore, why exactly are they celebrities? The fact that we’re giving in to their yearn for fame is going to end up creating a monster. Back off of the celebrities that want their privacy, and stop paying attention to the ones that are so-called celebrities, even though they didn’t have to work for their fame.
Our society hounding and pursuing celebrity news and lifestyles is taking over too many peoples’ time. That information may be interesting to know – I’m with you there – but if we make it the most important thing in our lives, we’re going to lose sight of what’s really important: our friends and family. Society needs to change its focus to more important things that will benefit the entire world. Celebrity obsession needs to become yesterday’s news.
