Jumping right into it – why are celebrities treated like they are? Often so heavily glamorised; celebrities are the subject of, or at least mentioned all over online, and alway dominating the spotlight.  There’s no particular checklist to be a celebrity apart from needing to be famous, so why do so many people follow them as if they’re martyrs of society? And, to be honest, I have no solid answer. Nevertheless, obsessing over a person won’t ever result in happiness, no matter how long you spend learning every little fact about them. If anything, you’re loving the idea of a person, not who the actual person is – because that would require actually spending time with them. They’re not gods. Celebrity worship is a real, and alarming problem in society. 

Of course, whenever there’s a major political or social event, you can always count on the multi-millionaires to make it all about themselves. Because who better to guide the average working person on which candidate represents their interests than a group of multi-millionaires living in a bedazzled mansion? So much of our culture around celebrities is about using them to boost our own social status. People take pictures with famous faces, not to connect with them, but to show off to others. People don’t want to talk to them, or thank them – they’re just there for the credibility of saying they’ve seen someone famous in person. Yet, it’s so normalized that no one – except the person bombarded with flashing lights – blinks an eye at it. 

Social media has exposed celebrities for who they really are, revealing how fake and out-of-touch they can be. Their influence has been declining for years, and it shows! Things only got worse during the pandemic when celebrities preached from their mansions, telling people in tiny apartments; “Merry Christmas – we’re in this together!” Meanwhile, the gap between the rich and the poor only widened. It’s not as if the public is entirely clueless about their lack of sincerity – Oprah Winfrey’s significant campaign costs in Kamala Harris’ events may have swayed a few people over, or Kanye West’s endorsements of Trump campaigns perhaps caused some people to rethink their decisions for the U.S 2024 elections – but it’s clear now. People have slowly started to realize they don’t want to be told how to think, vote, or which causes to support by their favorite actor or TV star. 

Here’s the thing: I don’t hate you for being rich and successful. If you’ve earned it, you’ve done something many of us can only dream of, and that is truly worthy of applause. If you’re good at your job, I’ve got so much reason to be inspired by your work and see you as a role model. Many celebrities aren’t necessarily even bad people – that’s not my point here. But it’s clear that the majority of what you see online is just another day for a professional pretender to try and convince you to follow what they’re reading off a script. And spending too much time idolizing someone else or trying to imitate them? That can make it harder to find your own identity. I’m not trying to tell you to do anything or force you to go down a path you don’t want to (sound familiar?), but at least realize that instead of going down a scrolling rabbit hole of what the latest celebrity supports or doesn’t support, try debating your own viewpoints instead.