Celebrities have a powerful influence on culture. They can promote products and ideas, or they can detract from them. They are idolized, admired and envied. They can inspire aspirations, arouse disdain and even hatred. They are aspirational avatars, vessels of collective memory and icons for identity formation. The media, which both creates and reflects celebrity culture, plays a pivotal role in shaping the impact that celebrities have on society.
Unlike the related terms “fame” and “renown,” which connote a certain reverence, “celebrity” hints at a kind of public mobbing that may or may not be celebrated. In fact, in its first century of use, the word celebrity was used to describe both celebratory rites and acts of crowd control. The 19th century set the stage for modern celebrity, but the 20th century amplified it beyond all expectation.
Today, with a proliferation of social media and other technologies that allow people to connect to others around the globe, it is easier than ever for celebrities to gain a global following and become famous. But does the popularity of a celebrity always translate into real-world positive impacts? A new research effort, the interdisciplinary Celebrities and Health project at Harvard, aims to answer this question by conducting a systematic review of primary studies that assess celebrity’s impact on various outcomes including body image, cancer screening and suicide. The project will also conduct a meta-analysis to determine whether the results of these studies are consistent across various populations and environments.
The research will be guided by a set of research questions that aim to shed light on how and why celebrities influence people’s behavior and attitudes. This includes examining the extent to which celebrities influence behavior through the use of social media, the ways in which they are presented in popular culture and how they interact with their followers.
A celebrity is someone who is well-known to the general public because of fame in entertainment, politics, business or sport. They may have a large number of fans who consider them to be influential and trustworthy. They may also be well-known to the general public through their acting, singing, writing or sports accomplishments.
While most celebrities have achieved fame through a career in the performing arts, there are many others who achieve celebrity by being well-known in a specific field such as science, business or law. The word celebrity is sometimes used to describe a specific lifestyle such as living in a certain neighborhood, or a particular type of clothing, car, or accessory.
In addition to their status as cultural brokers, celebrities play a unique role in popular culture by reflecting our collective fantasies, eliciting vicarious identification and enticing curiosity. They also stimulate debate and controversy, polarize opinion, and affirm their own uniqueness. The concept of celebrity has evolved over time, as has the role of the media in its creation and exploitation of it. This evolution of the celebrity phenomenon is reflected in the way that it has been viewed by scholars and critics.