If you go on any news website, scattered among the articles about bombings in a middle eastern country, the next Facebook update, a new health scare, and a mass shooting, inevitably somewhere in the lineup will be a story about Kim Kardashian, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles or another rich 20something who may or may not possess talent. Yet America still seems to care about them. Why is this? Why do we idolize these people who we have never met, and why do we care that they just bought another home, or sold 10 million copies of their new book or CD? And why is it that when you ask a ten year old what they want to be when they grow up, a common answer is rich and famous? There’s a whole psychology behind this and a variety of reasons as to why we
…show more content…
Chances are, if you run into someone on the street and mention Kim Kardashian they’ll know who your talking about, making it an easy conversation topic (Weisberg). This is because to many, celebrities’ lives are interesting. Their 72 day marriages, their divorces, DUI’s- its all on the public stage and we all just like to watch a train-wreck happening for the whole world to see. And aside from being interesting it can be just plain fun to talk about, for no reason what so ever, especially because more often then not, this will not be something the average person experiences for themselves …show more content…
According to Daniel Kruger, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Michigan, having what’s called a “parasocial” or one-sided relationship with a celebrity has become easier then ever. This is another possible reason for our fascination. Here’s how it works: Justin Bieber will go on Ellen and share details about his life, and this phenomenon is only reinforced with sites such as Twitter and Instagram where stars will interact with their fans (Pappas). Social media creates a perceived proximity between celebrities and their fans. Celebrities share details about their lives on these social media sites just like peoples actual friends do, which in turn creates the illusion of a genuine relationship between the celebrity and the fan. In some fan’s eyes, it seems like they “know” these celebrities as well as their family, friends and boyfriends do (Chamorro-Premuzic). According to Robert Wright, author of The Moral Animal, our brains do not distinguish between gossip about people we actually know and gossip about celebrities, its not an instinct that we have, and with social media playing such a large role in the lives of many of us, this kind of gossip is everywhere, farther reinforcing the idea that we can “know” these people
Chances are, if you run into someone on the street and mention Kim Kardashian they’ll know who your talking about, making it an easy conversation topic (Weisberg). This is because to many, celebrities’ lives are interesting. Their 72 day marriages, their divorces, DUI’s- its all on the public stage and we all just like to watch a train-wreck happening for the whole world to see. And aside from being interesting it can be just plain fun to talk about, for no reason what so ever, especially because more often then not, this will not be something the average person experiences for themselves …show more content…
According to Daniel Kruger, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Michigan, having what’s called a “parasocial” or one-sided relationship with a celebrity has become easier then ever. This is another possible reason for our fascination. Here’s how it works: Justin Bieber will go on Ellen and share details about his life, and this phenomenon is only reinforced with sites such as Twitter and Instagram where stars will interact with their fans (Pappas). Social media creates a perceived proximity between celebrities and their fans. Celebrities share details about their lives on these social media sites just like peoples actual friends do, which in turn creates the illusion of a genuine relationship between the celebrity and the fan. In some fan’s eyes, it seems like they “know” these celebrities as well as their family, friends and boyfriends do (Chamorro-Premuzic). According to Robert Wright, author of The Moral Animal, our brains do not distinguish between gossip about people we actually know and gossip about celebrities, its not an instinct that we have, and with social media playing such a large role in the lives of many of us, this kind of gossip is everywhere, farther reinforcing the idea that we can “know” these people