It’s everywhere.
News, social media, tv, advertisements, radio, your clothes, the food you eat, the shampoo you use, the pants you wear…
Everywhere.
Celebrity worship isn’t something new. It’s been kicking for a long time. It began when some idiot thought it was a good idea to eat, breathe and live like their favourite celebrity and follow what they do for no good reason.
Image Source: India Today
And it spread because someone figured out that they can use this person’s obsession to sell crap to him and make a profit.
Today, this phenomenon has become suffocating. And for the sake of everyone’s sanity, we need to stop with celebrity worship.
Why does it happen?
Well, my delusional idiot remark may come across as rude, and it is. It’s also a massive oversimplification of why people get so obsessed with celebrities and their lives.
Although there is no one reason why it happens, there are plenty of psychological aspects to it.
One of the primary factors is escapism.
People see celebrities as out of this world. And why wouldn’t they? These celebs and their agencies spend a lot of time, money and effort to create a larger than life image for these celebrities.
While most of us live a boring, exhausting and monotonous life.
It’s the same reason we watch movies or read books or do anything to help those little bastards in our skull escape from reality. And while there’s nothing wrong it doing watching movies or reading a book or playing video games, celebrity worship takes it to a whole other level.
Image Source: Shape
Most people indulge in celebrity obsession because they want to live their lives, or rather, live as these celebrities do.
These celebs seem to have all figured out. They are successful. People love them. Admire them, want to be them. They look good (most of them anyway). They have lots of money. And they hold a higher position in this social construct.
Many people look up to them. Many go beyond that.
They start to envy them, lust over them, worship them, obsess over them.
Some even claim to love them and want to marry them.
Image Source: Buzzfeed
These are all red flags on a HUGE spectrum of red flags. You may think looking up to a celebrity isn’t that big of a deal, and it isn’t, but what exactly are these people looking up to? A fake persona?
The problem isn’t just that people think that celebrities live a better life; the problem is that they think their own lives are somehow lesser.
Why we need to stop with celebrity worship
Because it’s unhealthy. And I am not even talking about the extreme cases.
Image Source: Newshub
I am talking about people living their lives following someone blindly. Wearing what they are wearing, eating what they are eating, going where they are going. Being involved in their lives and pettiest of there issues.
Their breakups and hookups, what they said and to whom, their fights and friendships – all this meaningless gossip – and people obsess over it. Some even experience genuine feelings like fear, disgust or anger when their favourite celebrity does something that they don’t like and breaks their ‘trust’.
This becomes even unhealthier when people allow their obsession to affect critical parts of their lives.
Celebrity worship influences people’s buying behaviour, voting patterns and even their choices in finding a long-term partner – All this based on a carefully engineered and manipulated persona.
How can we stop with celebrity worship?
I am not going to lie to you, it’s going to be difficult, very difficult.
From selling products to selling a lifestyle, the celebrity culture has transformed a lot.
Image Source: Buzzfeed
The constant bombardment of unnecessary gossip about them on social media doesn’t exactly help either.
To actually stop, you need to realize that this is a far bigger industry than you realize. There are so many companies that are profiting from this industry that it’s not going to be an easy task to quit it.
First, what you need to realize that these celebrities are just people. Regular people. Their lives sure look interesting and they are (depending on your definition of the word), but they’re still regular people who feel an average set of emotions like you and me, and they act based on these average emotions.
Second, you have to disconnect a bit. Unfollow any pages that exclusively publish celebrity gossip. Unsubscribe from channels that push this sort of content. Stop following, liking, reading, watching, subscribing to anything that you feel is unnecessary noise.
Finally, and this is the most important part, you need to stop thinking of your life as something lesser.
Image Source: Hollywood.com
Sure, working long shift almost the whole week isn’t as interesting as going on a promotion tour in Italy or a concert in Vegas…but finding an escape through their lives isn’t healthy. Dating someone average and living an average but a happy life together is far more precious than these tabloids will make you believe.
There is nothing wrong in admiring someone, but when this admiration turns into obsession and starts affecting your life, then it becomes a problem.
If you feel bad about your life then change it. I know, I know, easier said than done and all that. But living uncontented with your own life isn’t a very good feeling either.
If you feel your life is lesser then make it interesting.
Find people you like spending time with, find a hobby, a new job or something exciting to do, even if it once a week or a month.
Make time for yourself. Invest the same amount of effort you put in following these celebrities in yourself. Realize that constantly indulging yourself in news about these celebrities personal lives is unhealthy and really doesn’t change your life in any way. If you’re looking for entertainment, watch a movie which at least has an end, unlike this fixation with someone else.
Image Source: The Richest
Stop envying, stop obsessing, stop thinking yourself as inferior. Stop with celebrity worship.
Instead, make it about you. Worship yourself. Love yourself. Put effort in making your life better, Make yourself better.