Duke It Out: Celeb Obsessed?

December 4, 2009 Posted in Reality

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman, so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like whether Miley's a bad influence!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

By Lauren H

A while back we had some qualms about the big Rihanna interview and it’s timing. Wherever you came down on that argument, it got me to thinking: is it really any of our business? Celeb watching has existed for basically as long as celebrities have, but in the info-age things have been cranked up to 11 (197,000,000 hits on the search “celebrity gossip”!).

Have we gone too far?

On one side, celebs put themselves out there to be seen. You don’t become a movie or pop star today without knowing that paparazzi will be following you around. And not only do they need that kind of rabid attention to draw people to their work, but a lot of them use it to their advantage. I’m sure it’s annoying not to have any privacy, but it’s kinda hypocritical to complain about how no one will leave you alone in the magazine article promoting your new TV show. Being a celeb now is a package deal, and everybody who’s trying to break into it knows that – maybe it’s time to just suck it up and deal. Or totally embrace it.

But still, celebs are just people like the rest of us, with private lives – the fact that more people see the work they do doesn’t mean we should have the right to see the minute details of their lives. Is it really our business that Tiger Woods is cheating on his wife? That Adam Lambert and his BF broke up? Does that information affect who they are in their professional lives?

And there are a lot of things we’ll ignore in real life that we watch obsessively with celebs. Like practically all of us know someone who’s divorced, but people don’t walk up to them at parties and bombard them with questions about their ex. With celebs, that kind of behavior is fair game. Maybe more importantly though, thinking about real life, is what it reflects on us to be so celeb obsessed. I have lunch with the same girl everyday and I couldn’t tell you with certainty the name of her bf or her roommates – and yet I know Katy Perry’s cat’s name (Kitty Purry) and I’m not even a Katy Perry fan! Are we really so shallow that “knowing” celebs trumps knowing real people?

So, am I totally over-reacting? Is celeb watching just another harmless pastime for the tech generation? Do celebs really have a right to complain? Or have we seen the line in the sand and taken a flying leap over it? Duke. It. Out.

475827 CommentsDuke+It+Out%3A+Celeb+Obsessed%3F2009-12-04+14%3A00%3A41Lauren+H+-+The+New+School on "Duke It Out: Celeb Obsessed?"

JenniferUofR says:
Fri, 4th Dec 20095:50 am

I feel bad being so transfixed by them, I would never want my problems out in he open. But their lives are interesting in the same way a soap opera is. I do believe they have the right to keep their kids out of the news and out of the paps way. I also think they do deserve a certain amount of privacy. I have seen a few celbes when I was in NYC, I never went up to them because I felt it was wrong. After all they are normal people at the grocery store or walking to work. We all want to be left alone to live our lives. I think we as a culture fuel the obsession. We are addicted and it's a huge money making machine. I don't think there is a way to get around it, we have become such nosy and prying people.

K says:
Fri, 4th Dec 20096:54 am

I'm leaning more towards the end that they don't really have a right to complain. Sure, there are some instances where they should, like a crazed stalker. However, in everyday occurrences, fans are what are generating their exorbitant paychecks. If you're making so many millions and all you have to complain about is people loving you enough to want to learn more about you, you don't have much to complain about.

Lauren - University says:
Fri, 4th Dec 20097:57 am

I feel really bad sometimes. Mostly because I know more about Speidi than I do about world history. But also because, despite the fact that they entered into the limelight willingly, everyone has a right to some sort of privacy. And the fact that mags and tv shows are paying people tons of money to divulge secrets of their friends and family… its just sorta sick.

Star says:
Tue, 8th Dec 20098:40 pm

I agree, we are way too focused on celebrities. Yes they put themselves in the spotlight and some do just want the fame and drama, but many just love acting or golf, or whatever they do. It's a hard price to pay, I would think, to choose to do what you love knowing that people will post every detail about your personal life and it will be all over magazine covers every time you go shopping.

sauer kraut says:
Wed, 9th Dec 20099:21 am

Any person who does not want to become famous need only find a cabin in the woods… otherwise, avoid the sports and headlines.

It's no surprise that Tiger had something on the side… but 10? Or more? Wow. But still… what the heck caused the accident? The MSM has become so focused on the seedy side of his personality that they've forgotten to cover the event which brought all those women out of the woodwork.

But hey… at least Gloria Allred is getting some front page time again.

Nikki says:
Fri, 11th Dec 20098:56 am

I love celeb gossip, and am a little ashamed of it. I think the reason people like myself, get so caught up in it, is because it's nice.. hmm, maybe nice isn't the right word… it's refreshing to see that even though they live these "perfect" lives, they still have faults like the rest of us. Men are always huge on picking on women for this "hobby", but aren't they the same with Sports figures ie. Tiger?

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