Why Are We So Obsessed With Celebrity Life?

Why is our culture so obsessed with the lives of celebrities? How did we get this way?

I believe one reason is that social media has made celebrities appear more accessible than ever before. There was once a time when you could only see celebrities on television, hear them on the radio, or read about them in magazines. You were fortunate if you had the opportunity to see your favorite celebrity perform at a concert, and even more fortunate if you happened to encounter one while out in public.

Today, things are very different. You can tweet directly at a celebrity, follow their daily activities on Instagram, watch them go live from their homes or studios, and send them direct messages containing everything you think and feel about them. This level of interaction can create the illusion that celebrities are personally accessible to us, even when there is no real relationship.

In many ways, the mystique of celebrity has disappeared. Celebrities seem less mysterious when we can watch them cooking in their kitchens, sitting in their bedrooms, arguing with family members, sharing personal struggles, or casually talking about life. Because we see so much of them, they can begin to feel like friends, neighbors, or people we personally know.

But what happens when following the lives of celebrities becomes a substitute for fully engaging with our own?

This level of access may not be physically dangerous, but it can still be unhealthy for our emotional and personal well-being. When we spend large amounts of time online following celebrity relationships, controversies, lifestyles, and personal decisions, we may become less attentive to the lives unfolding directly in front of us.

We can miss opportunities for personal growth and advancement. We can waste time that we will never get back. We may begin comparing our ordinary lives to carefully selected images of wealth, beauty, romance, and success. We can even isolate ourselves from the people who genuinely know, love, and care about us.

Perhaps the real question is not why celebrities share so much of their lives with us. The more important question may be: Why are we giving so much of our own lives away in return?