This is a topic that has been on my mind a lot lately. It is quite a disturbing phenomenon to me, something that I just can’t wrap my little Tally mind around. My problem is not with the ‘celebs’ themselves – a few of them wholly deserve the notoriety they have gained, but I feel that many of their ‘fans’ are going a little overboard. Plus, I do feel that there are some internet celebs that really don’t deserve all of the attention they are getting. lol.
First, let me say that I realize that 'Celebrity Worship' has been, and always will be, a part of our culture. That's a given.
With the birth of Myspace came the rise of internet celebrities {at least to my knowledge}. Little scene kids all over the country stumbled across creative/talented/unique individuals that they looked up to, but it seems to have gotten a little bit out of hand. I don’t understand how so many of these teenagers today can put a person they have never even met on such a high pedestal.
Of course – I realize that it’s mainly because today’s youth has all this unlimited access to the internet, which we {most of us mid 20’s and up} didn’t have at their age. So, I guess I can kind of understand it, but at the same time I still think something is very wrong with it. Whatever happened to the days of Bop & Seventeen magazine? What happened to old-fashioned fan mail? I mean really, just write a letter and be done with it! Don’t let someone else’s being encompass your entire life.
Yeah–yeah, I had these ‘celebrity obsessions’ in my younger days as well, but it was so much more innocent and low-key back then. What’s that? You have a crush on Brian Austin Green? Easy – just send him a fan mail letter to the set of 90210. {Yes – I did it. lol}. Think that Christina Applegate has the best fashion sense ever? Easy – just collect pictures of her and stick ‘em on your wall with all the cute buys you have collected! {Guilty again}.
People need to realize that all these celebs are no different than themselves.
Gah! So much more to say, but I can’t seem to find the words for it right now.
What are your thoughts on this whole internet celebrity phenomena & the obsession of today’s youth with complete strangers? How much is too much?
yeah this is soo truee I completely agree everyones so ..... celebrity obsessed.... I feel the people who really deserve it most on the net tend to stumble apon it.. like they're not trying so hard to be cool they just are.
Did I say mid 20's & up?!? lol. I meant late 20's and up. Damn.... I am getting old! Well, not THAT old, but older than I realized. I turn 28 next month!
Cool post, and it's so true... Some celebrities do good and seem to deserve their fame but others...It's like a passport or a get out of jail free card. It's a shame really... I think people forget their roots and where they came from sometimes.
I have to be honest and admit that I'm one of those horrible people who visit perezhilton about three times a week (at least). I know that I'm feeding something mean and intrusive while I'm doing it, but I can't seem to help myself. I have this voracious appetite for inconsequential information, and a huge chunk of that is dedicated to pop culture. When I was younger, I read the Vanilla Ice biography, and I've been hooked on useless celebrity data henceforth :) Figuring out how to react to everthing that is thrown at us as a result of modern technology can be a daunting task. I just hope that the end result is that the upcoming generation is more well rounded, fair minded,and critical of information sources as a result of being bombarded with all of this from a young age (I can dream can't I?). Keep up the great blogagge.
lol - I have actually never visited the Perez Hilton site before. I didn't even know who he was until last night! I stumbled across him while googeling the term 'celebrity obsession'. lol. I think I might go check it out today. :)
I am not completely 'innocent' in this celeb crazed life, I do keep up with a few different people, but I don't let it get to the point of obsession. I don't find that to be healthy. A few of the people that I 'keep up with' are solely for entertainment purposes. ha!
i agree. i remember sending out fan mail too & putting up pictures of the cute boys in my locker or my wall. i once sent out a letter to the cast of sabrina the teenage witch haha, but they returned two autographed pictures of the whole cast with signatures. and now, my little cousin tried to send out fan mail but all they give you is a paper that tells you to join their fanclub. i kinda wish i lived in the time where that paparazzi were respectful and kept their space. and when you could go right up to the celebrity and ask for their autograph. it would be less chaotic, and we probably wouldn't have celebrities go crazy like britney spears lol and i think that people look up to these internet celebrities, because they just need to look up to somebody. and theyre probably easier to contact.
Ah yes :) I got autographed photos back from 3 cast members of Beverly Hills 90210 {circa 1993}. I know I had collected a few more autographed photos via fan clubs, but I can't remember who they were now.
A shame they don't all do things like that now. Of course, who knows if our autographed photos were actually signed by the celebs in question, but at least they tried to make it fun for the fans.
I've noticed this too, particularly in the art field. You might have heard of an artist who goes by larafairie on DeviantART. She had her art stolen and put on a porn DVD cover, then posted her story everywhere she could, and soon she had millions (nearly 10 million in fact) of page views, as well as thousands of sympathy comments and favourites. Some might call me jealous, but I just think that maybe people are, like you said, putting her on too high a pedestal. Her work is nice, but there are thousands of artists who are just as good or better than herself who don't get the recognition they deserve. If she submitted a shot that was utter rubbish, she'd still get a couple hundred favourites regardless, just because people know about her work and because of her large audience.
hey lady. next time you are on myspace will you log into the shop acct & delete the inksplosion banners please? i looked at the code but didn't want to screw anything up. xoxo
I am from Alberta, Canada. We get lotsa snow up here! =) hehe!. Luckily none right now! just a lot of rain. Speaking of flowers, my grandmother has a LOT of them. If you would like any, let me know and I can mail some seeds to you! =)
