Magazines like People and Us Weekly lay directly next to newspapers and world news sources, and too often people choose to grab a copy of a magazine with Kim Kardashian’s brushed-up face splashed across the cover instead of a publication with pressing news. This is not only a sign of skewed priorities on the public’s part but also a message that real news does not come in a package wrapped with beautiful faces. The time spent researching and talking about this news should be replaced by discussing real-world problems, problems that average citizens face. There is no reason to give excessive amounts of money or time to sources that report on whether an actress has gained weight with a baby (surprise, surprise: she will).
While actors’ lives appear interesting and chic, they make up only a tiny fraction of the world’s population; concerns should be centered around rational issues. The magazines that claim to report on real people are detrimental to the masses because they portray a false and superficial world and important issues are therefore slipping through the cracks.
“It’s laughable how people would rather keep up with the Kardashians instead of focusing on relevant global issues like what is going on in Syria as we speak,” said sophomore Zoe Morfas.
Stated on The New York Times’ ‘World’ section online, the United Nations has conducted studies showing that women’s rights are a stagnant issue in developing nations. On the Us Weekly website, the front story boasts “Work it! Kris Jenner Straddles Stripper Pole in Kim K’s #WCW Picture.” That seems to be reason enough to gag and exit out of the snarky website or throw down the ridiculous magazine at the checkout section, but Facebook statuses and Twitter updates are still celebrity-obsessed. Enterainment moguls like tabloid blogger Perez Hilton and Harvey Levin, the CEO of TMZ, are ridiculous, paying sources for awful and personal information on celebrities that the public adores.
Along with priorities changing, our culture is changing as well. Movies become more and more about entertainment, whether that be shooting action movies or cheesy romantic comedies, rather than adding to cultural achievements or making societal changes. Music is about the “artist” rather than the quality of the music. Reality television shows lack depth or any plot, indulging the viewers’ zombie-like following of stars. Along with people paying $12 to see Angelina Jolie shoot people, art forms become entertainment sources. The obsession with celebrity culture is increasing while fascination with real cultural pieces is losing popularity.
Reading stories of starvation or oppression is understandably difficult as opposed to reading stories of beautiful celebrities, but human compassion depreciates with each moment of not understanding each other. Many youth are uninformed or misinformed about U.S. government or the decisions made that will affect the future greatly. According to tests done by www.civicyouth.org, 37.8 percent of students thought their Civics or U.S. History classes are unimportant. The nation’s media and culture proves immature as it obsesses religiously on superficial life forms. Karl Marx famously said that “religion is the opiate of the people.” Today, religion could be swapped with celebrity, as the majority sure seems addicted to it.
Instead of paying attention to Justin Bieber’s latest mishap, Internet users should try understanding a world issue. A vote or opinion could eventually help with more important problems if people just start to prioritize and put forth effort to expand their minds.
