People of this generation are beginning to find themselves spending more time watching the average person’s drama unfold on MTV’s Jersey Shore as opposed to reading biographies about how talented celebrities achieved their fame. Many celebrities in today’s society are famous for reasons that should not define the word “celebrity,” such as being wealthy or attractive. Certain people are deemed celebrities for meaningless reasons, which overrules the talent of hard-working people who are known for their success. This causes society to waste endless amounts of time taking interest in people who do not have better qualities than the average person. This new trend of people gaining attention for unjustified reasons blurs the line of what is real talent and what is merely fame.
“Many celebrities are celebrities for the wrong reasons,” said junior Tessa Flack. “They use their promiscuity to gain fame, which sets a bad example for younger generations.”
The title of “celebrity” entails that the public is interested in that person’s achievements. Many celebrities who grace the cover of magazines and movie screens intrigue people to learn more about them, even if the only reason they are famous is because of their drug use or scandalous behavior. For example, the Kardashians surface countless magazines solely due to their beauty. People should focus more on talented celebrities who began with nothing and used motivation, determination and talent to achieve stardom, instead of reality T.V. stars who hold no talent other than the ability to use drama and gossip to heighten their status. For fans, this shift in celebrity culture portrays how becoming famous is no longer about striving to achieve one’s dream but about seeing who has the most money and can buy his or her way into the limelight.
Many fans are infatuated with certain celebrities and usually spend large amounts of time keeping themselves updated with the latest information about the celebrities’ lives. According to www.anhoward.wordpress.com, the average person spends about one third of his free time watching T.V. and of that one third, 67 percent is reality T.V. People care excessively about the lives of others who are famous solely for being wealthy but possess nothing that makes them standout and be celebrity-worthy. Several fans idolize and model themselves after these people who are not doing anything significant.
“People use up so much time worrying about what types of foods celebrities are eating or what clothes they’re wearing,” said senior Alex Shapiro. “Instead, people should spend their time productively in a way that would benefit themselves, opposed to wasting their time on pointless celebrities.”
People in today’s society should not focus their time and attention on celebrities that obtain no real talent. If the trend continues, people in future generations will continue to see the shift from celebrities who have talent to those who are simply famous for no apparent reason.
