Celebrity Worship via Social Media

Social media makes our celebrities a lot more accessible - no longer do we have to wait for news reports or for pictures by mail. We can access these tweets, Facebook statuses, pictures, etc. directly on the internet. Celebrities are closer to us than ever - their sly endorsements, their riotous comments, and their blunders (all aimed at making them look human) are on display. This is a marketing ploy. While arguably some things are genuinely posted out of joy, the vast majority are aimed towards projecting an image towards the public that will make the people feel more charitable towards the celebrity.

In every society, there is a celebrity or at least someone to observe in wonder. Part of the reason we observe in such awe is the desire to vicariously live their lives. They seem much more fascinating than we are and yet, we all live and breathe the same air. This disconnects us from the reality of our more grim surroundings and connects us to the gaudy designs of the various red carpets in celebrity award ceremonies. Sometimes, a distraction is necessary. However, the closer celebrities are to us, the more we worship them for being human or being kind or brave, instead of connecting to our own worlds and noticing all of the little deeds performed everyday that are not captured by the media.

Not only does the extreme visage of celebrities in social media corrupt our sense of reality, it corrupts our own self esteem through exposure. We are exposed to what is meant to be "perfection" constantly. During the teenage years, this can be particularly crippling. The admiration of a lifestyle that is out of reach may cement our own senses of inadequacy or loneliness. In one study, a group of college students was asked about their self esteem. Then, they were asked to write an essay about their favorite celebrity. When asked again about their self esteem, their results on the self esteem questionnaire became significantly higher because they had been emulating the celebrities and their glow and achievement, rather than any true self esteem gain.