Celebrity is a term of wide public recognition and frequent public infamy of an individual, group or sometimes an animal, due to the sustained attention given to them by commercial media. A famous person can become a celebrity by becoming successful in one or more vices, such as gambling, drinking, politics, art or music. In some instances, public relations specialists help celebrities cope with the increased public scrutiny. Celebrities can be depicted in numerous media types, such as books, movies, television, music videos, video games, and in fashion. A celebrity is usually defined by their association with other famous people or organizations, which are usually marketed by the star’s publicist or agent.
The relationship between celebrities and teen body image has been the subject of rigorous research by sociologists, psychologists, and anthropologists for decades. As the phenomenon of teenage pregnancy has reached all-time high levels, there has been a growing concern about what this increase in teen body image might mean for young people’s self-image and sense of social acceptance. Although many experts argue that teen bulimia and eating disorders are not caused by celebrities, most people accept that the public’s increasing desire to portray celebrity culture is having a significant impact on young people’s attitudes and choices. More teens today seem to be dissatisfied with the image of perfectly thin models and superheroes, and are often inspired to imitate these celebrities.
Teenagers increasingly turn to social networking services, in order to connect with the “cool” celebrities. For example, several teenagers have created accounts on social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook to share photos of themselves with their friends. Teenagers will also seek out the advice of celebrity gossip blogs and websites in hopes of learning more about the lives of these famous people. Their goal is to find out how they live their lives, and to become more like them. However, because they are seeking out these information sources through the means of a celebrity’s mouth, this type of peer pressure can be much more dangerous than one would think.
Parents have also joined the wave of public fascination with celebrities. Many parents feel like they need to be in the media spotlight so that their children will have a better understanding of who they are. This sort of public fascination with celebrities has increased over the past decade. With the birth of reality television shows and movies that openly showcase the lives of celebrities, the public has even more reason to be interested in the lives of celebrities. In fact, many teens feel as though the world is turning out to be too obsessed with celebrities, and that society is moving closer to enforcing social norms around personal appearance and personal wealth.
Teenagers will likely continue to be influenced by celebrities into adulthood. The recent tragic stories of abuse stemming from celebrity eating disorders will likely leave an enduring impression on many teenagers. As well as the obvious dangers inherent in associating with someone suffering from such problems, the mere existence of a famous celebrity will often prompt young people to try to emulate the things that they see on TV or in movies. These things include not only an overall awareness of what unhealthy behaviour looks like, but will also likely encourage them to start experimenting with their own personal identity and fashion sense.
Celebrities will always have an influence on our culture. There will always be a portion of the population that will idolize a celebrity, just as there will always be a segment of society that strives to be like them. Unfortunately, too many times these endeavors result in harmful actions. In order to make sure that celebrity interests do no harm to us all, we need to be aware of what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how they choose to go about promoting their ventures.