This article aims to highlight why people are obsessed with the personal lives of celebrities, and why they pay so much attention to news about them. We will also take a look at what causes this obsession and what is celebrity worship syndrome.
People across the world are curious about celebs being in a relationship, their upcoming projects and movies, their lifestyles, what they wear, what they eat, their workouts and whatnot. It has become a trend to recreate the look that actors and actresses had at some events, movies, airports, or in their daily lives.
An example of this is that teenage girls in particular were browsing the internet and asking on Instagram where they could get a shrug similar to the one actress Alia Bhatt wore in the song “Kesariya.” The sales of red shrugs similar to the one Alia wore increased manifold, and people started uploading reels of themselves dancing to “Kesariya” in shrugs.
Many videos can be found online recreating the airport looks, the gym looks, the movie looks, etc. of celebrities. And people even buy outfits online to look like their favourite celebs.
But why do we try to recreate their looks? One of the reasons behind this is that we feel that celebrities wear clothes which are styled by top stylists and it is easy to wear fashionable clothes by just copying them instead of putting in the effort to style your own outfits.
Secondly, we humans subconsciously idolize and worship those who are powerful, well-known and popular, and we feel that their lifestyles are fascinating and glamorous. So we subconsciously feel that if we wear clothes similar to them, then we are like them and it helps them feel more confident and powerful.
Most people follow their favourite singers, actors, radio jockeys, T.V. anchors, comedians, influencers, etc. on social media because in this way they feel that they are closer to them and they are almost like their friends. We imitate the behaviours, clothing choices, food choices, and music choices of our favourite celebs to feel like we are just like them, and we try to use the products they use because we just want to be as close to our idols as possible. This helps us feel close and give us the feeling that we are also famous and living a glamorous lifestyle.
Everyone is interested in the personal lives, and love lives of the celebs. We love to gossip about what is going on in their lives, break ups, new relationships, weddings, babies, etc. because gossiping about celebrities helps keep our minds off the troubles and stressors in our own lives. Even though gossiping about celebrities won’t help us, humans are curious and like to talk about what is going on in the lives of those who seem so glamorous. We want to see if their life is as glamorous as it looks.
But this curiosity and imitating should not become an unhealthy obsession. Because if it turns into an unhealthy obsession then it may turn into celebrity worship syndrome. Celebrity worship syndrome is a condition in which we always think about a celebrity, they are always in our minds, we are overly involved in the details of their life, and we feel that our identity depends on their identity. Curiosity and imitation turn into an obsession to know about the personal and professional life of a celebrity.
This one-sided emotional attachment with someone who doesn’t even know of your existence is called celebrity worship syndrome. It is considered an obsessive-addictive disorder and is not a clinically recognized condition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5).
Furthermore, there is a higher chance of celebrity worship syndrome occurring in people who suffer from psychoticism, materialism, anxious-ambivalent and avoidant attachment styles, neuroticism, fantasy proneness, narcissism, low self-esteem, cognitive inflexibility, depression, anxiety, poor intimate relationship quality, difficulty coping with conflict, dissociation, poor personal boundaries, addictive disorders, etc.
People worship celebrities because it gives them a sense of identity and a sense of self. Celebrity worship can be mild to extreme. Mild cases of celebrity worship may include naming your child after a celebrity or imitating the dressing style of your favourite celeb. Stalking or harassing can also be considered celebrity worship. Extreme cases of celebrity worship could include getting plastic surgery to look like your favourite actor or actress.
However, it is important to understand that celebrities are not gods. They are humans just like us, they eat, sleep and rest just as we do. We need to stop idolizing and worshipping them. It is okay to be curious about them but this curiosity should not turn into an obsession.
To conclude, the lives and lifestyles of celebrities surely appear glamorous and attractive but in reality, celebrities have the same feelings, thoughts and desires as us. And oftentimes their real life is not as glamorous as it appears in their reel life. They are like everybody else and face various ups and downs in their lives, they too have their sad and happy moments.
News media, social media and PR make them appear glamorous and fascinating by talking about their lifestyle, looks and work. Everything that is shown by the media is not true. As it is said, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.”
Media makes it seem like the lives and lifestyles of celebrities are much more interesting than ours, and our subconscious mind makes us idolize them for they are famous, well known and living a life of glamour. But we should remember that they are human beings and not gods and there is a lot of difference between reel and real life.
“We need to teach our kids, because there is such a celebrity culture at the moment, that however rich you are, however famous you are, however glamorous you are, everyone has to live by the same rules.” ~ Nick Clegg
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