Collin Palmer's Essay 'Celebrity Obsession'

Many people are blind-sighted and tricked into being sucked into the world of celebrities and reality tv. This occurrence is known as celebrity worship syndrome and it can have many detrimental effects. Research has found that celebrity worship syndrome and an addiction to celebrities “has likewise been conceptualized as a search for a solid identity and social role ... and compulsive and obsessional elements are noted at advanced stages of addiction ... Thus, while absorption can partially account for the vividness of delusions related to dissociative experience ... the progression along our hierarchy of celebrity worship might reflect increases in the thresholds of the need and capacity of psychological absorption” (Rockwell). The absorption-addiction model that Rockwell references describes the parasocial relationship of a celebrity and a fan. Typically, due to deficits in a person’s life, a fan will become absorbed into a celebrity's following in order to escape their current life and they eventually become addicted. If an obsession with a celebrity is left unchecked it has the possibility to spiral into thoughts or behaviors that can be harmful to the fan and

On the other hand, Postrel points out the negative side effects that come with obsessively worshiping and idolizing celebrities. An article by Michael R. Hyman and Jeremy J. Sierra talks about why people idolize celebrities and how it can negatively affect someone. They say that “Once parents, advertisers, sport team/leagues are sensitized to the problem, adolescent hero worship of sport celebrities can be mitigated as a likely gateway to many adults ' unhealthy obsession with celebrities” (Hyman, Sierra, 2010 p.226). The authors are telling the reader that if you idolize them as children when they grow up it can turn into a worship, leading to many forms of unhealthy obsessions. The author uses this device to prove the point that celebrities are not all of the positive role models that they are shown to be. Members of society place super heroes or celebrities on pedestals but do not show some of the negativity that they cause. One way postrel says to fix this problem is to “give the audience an insider’s view”(Postrel). What he means is that now instead of unrealistic situations in comic books, the super hero’s are put in everyday real world situations. This allows the reader to see that they are

Some of us would say “No”, but the majority of us would leap on the prospect of living the life of a celebrity. Who doesn’t want the perks of vacationing all over the world, having someone wait on you hand and foot, receiving freebies from designers and all the other perks that come with being a celebrity? The question is do we want the downfalls that come with fame? Can we handle vicious tabloid scrutiny, fabrications, and assumptions? Being a celebrity has its perks, but at what cost? Fame and money can be the root of all evil. Never the less, we are contributing to the madness when we purchase tabloid magazines, watch entertainment shows that follow celebrity activities and judge them for their actions.

Celebrity bodies is an essay written by Cultural critic, Daniel Harris. The essay starts off by talking about the fatal heart attacks of two Uruguayan fashion models after eating nothing but lettuce leaves in the months before her death. He tries to inform the audience the negative effects of society on Hollywood and also who is to blame for what has happened to Hollywood, in his essay and he explains how everyone is so caught up into doing anything possible to look like the famous celebrities with "fit" bodies such as Beyonce and Jlo. He explains how many women do not take in consideration the healthy eating and the rigorous exercise plans that these famous people have to go through in order to keep their bodies looking "thin" or "fit". In

Look at Justin Bieber, he is a role model to millions of girls and boys, but that doesn’t stop him from acting like an immature child majority of the time. He smokes, does drugs, drinks and partakes in risky activities. Why would kids look up to such an awful person? They look up to him because he’s famous and wealthy. They want to be just like him, successful and wealthy, and the only way they think they can do that is to imitate his behavior.

The first chapter of “Empire of Illusion” by Chris Hedges address the issue of celebrity culture and how media has created an illusion for life. Throughout the chapter, Chris Hedges makes many assumptions about the average person’s ability to read and think deeply about issues.

In a parents perspective, it may be worrying what will be influencing their child's thinking and behavior. In Deborah Kings research, “She discovered that the younger the participant was, the more apt they were to follow celebrity gossip, even if the gossip was about a celebrity

This hunt causes many celebrities to become primarily occupied in their own life and focused solely on themselves. Celebrities become so egotistical because “in a world where the celebrity is hardly ever told ‘no,’ a predominantly self-centered orientation can occur” (Rockwell and Giles 189). Becoming so narcissistic causes many to go down the path towards self-importance. The desire for pride becomes addictive on the journey towards fame, and according to Donna Rockwell and David C. Giles, “It becomes difficult for the person to imagine living without fame…one said, ‘I’ve been addicted to almost every substance known to man at one point or another, and the most addiction of them all is fame’” (Rockwell and Giles 184).

In order to believe in one’s self, they must ignore what the world thinks of them. Emerson quotes, “whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist.” (Emerson 271) this quote relates to not just the celebrities, but the everyday person. When one celebrity listens to what the world thinks of them they would probably never be the great star they are now. If the “average joe” listen to everybody listen to their peers they would end up doing nothing with their

In the article, entitled “The Impact Celebrities Have on Our Lives,” Deborah King establishes the reasons why being overly obsessed with celebrities can lead to bad habits. To begin with, King points out that everyone is too obsessed with celebrities. The article indicates that the younger the audience, the more likely they will try to be like them and want what they have. Furthermore, King writes that even though there are positive celebrities out there, people seem to be more obsessed with the celebrities that make bad influences on people. In addition, she emphasizes that even though there are celebrities that seem like good role models for their audience, they have a private life that no one seems to know about. As a result, King concludes

If you consider that an obsession then why does, season 12 premiere of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” averaged 3.19million viewers. So, does that mean all of these viewers are

Have you ever wondered what influences us to behave the way we do? Look a certain way? Or even looked for an explanation to what causes us to apply a certain perspective regarding personal and controversial issues? One of the answers to these questions may revolve around the influence we absorb from celebrities. A definitive term for celebrity is an iconic figure to a category or group who has achieved success in one or multiple aspects of their lives. As a result, these individuals have drawn in publicity and fame. Over the years with the advances in media and other forms of communication, celebrities have become topics of discussion worldwide, rather if it’s at school, with colleagues or at the dinner table, it is fair to say that

Celebrities are everywhere in the news, the latest gossip appears in the weekly magazines without fail. Whether they be an actor, athlete, dancer, designer, model, singer or just rich; there is someone out there who is watching that person like a hawk, not letting a single breath go unnoticed. Such is the life of the rich and famous, under the incessant gaze of journalists and the paparazzi. Lives that many people take a great interest in and admire to the point where others would liken this great interest and admiration to a cult-like worship of celebrities. This is a brief description of what I think to be celebrity culture.

People were not exposed to barrage of news about celebrities a couple of decades ago. Mass media is becoming more garden because of rapid progress on technology day by day. Thereby, people are substantially interested in the private life of celebrities, and some of them are obsessed with celebrities. They desire to know everything about them. For instance, who is dating with whom, where they are shopping, or what they wear. In a word public have an endless hunger for more information. However, the public doesn't have the right to know about every single detail of celebrities' private lives due to several reasons.

People have been obsessed with celebrities for a long time now, but not as much as we do now. Colin Palmer wrote a short essay and said that it is harmless fun to have a slight obsession with a celebrity, and that he disagrees with Deborah King because she says that it could be unhealthy to have an obsession with a celebrity. Therefore, I agree with Palmer because people could be going through a tough time in their life, so watching a celebrity on social media so it could bring a smile to their faces.