Blog Post 6: Star Light, Star Bright

We all have this friend who tends to develop her obsession for a particular celebrity. She was an ordinary fan before and then evolved and turned to be overly involved with the details in that celebrity’s personal life. This is a disorder known as Celebrity worship syndrome. Sometimes, because of her too much addiction to her favorite celebrity, she sometimes fantasize she’s actually having a relationship with that artist. We often wonder how she would benefit from this make up relationship, if this is such a bad thing that needs to stop or is tolerable and actually helpful.

Even for someone not that addicted with stars and celebrities, we also get amazed and stammer every time we see a celebrity especially when we meet them personally. Why care? Celebrities are fascinating because they live in a parallel universe—one that looks and feels just like ours yet is light-years beyond our reach. And psychologists have indicated despite all the glamour celebrities have, the only common factor among them is that they are all figures in the public eye.

Although this may be a bit unusual, but research says that the act of celebrity worship may be a boon to some people's self-esteem.

"Perhaps some people who don't feel good about themselves and are not able to get what they want out of a real relationship because of a fear of rejection can feel a connection with a celebrity and get something positive out of that," 

Stated in Alice Park’s “Celebrity Worship: Good for Your Health?” I agree, because for those who have low self-esteem, they may refer to their idol as an inspiration and may be the key to improving themselves.  Oprah Winfrey, someone who suffered through poverty, sexual abuse and racial discrimination, is now the wealthiest woman in media. Lance Armstrong survived advanced testicular cancer and went on to win the Tour de France five times. They serve as inspiration for their fans to follow.

Another one is related to the previous one but focuses more on the physical appearance.  It is something called “the exposure effect.”  Well normally, if someone is beautiful, it’s not surprising that they become famous. Well, in this case, if someone is famous, they become beautiful. Stated in Carlin Flora’s article: Seeing by Starlight: Celebrity Obsession:

“The more we see a certain face, the more our brain likes it, whether or not it's actually beautiful.”

This gives hope and motivation to the public that’s why many are fascinated with the concept of fame. Celebrities and stars are not limited to only “the beautiful people.” This shows someone becomes beautiful in one’s eyes the more we see that certain face.

Although points were stated and proven that Celebrity Obsession is not such a bad thing, still you need to maintain balance with your obsession. Going back to Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic’s article What Makes YourObsession Healthy or Unhealthy Is Your Personality, in order to develop a healthy obsession,

“the only way to love something is to be obsessed with it, but if you have the wrong combination of personality traits, you may end up being obsessed BY it.”