by Kyra Lennon

Created on: June 16, 2010

Since reality television became popular, there has been an enormous increase in talentless people hitting the headlines. In the UK, it started with Big Brother but shows like Pop Idol, X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and even I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here have encouraged more and more wannabees to try their hand at finding their fifteen minutes of fame.

For some unfathomable reason, the public seem fascinated with these people who have embarrassed themselves on television. Big Brother contestants are usually the worst because their aim is solely to gain instant fans who have spent weeks watching them performing humiliating tasks and idly scratching their bums. They are treated like royalty when they are finally released from the Big Brother house and in some cases the fame continues for years. Very rarely does a real career come from it though, they keep their profiles high by dating celebrities and doing little or nothing else.

Reality talent shows have also bred many pointless “celebrities”. The most recent being Jedward, the Irish twins who caused controversy when they were selected to go through to the live finals even though they sang tunelessly through every audition. They aren't the first talent show auditionees to attempt to make it in the charts, but they have been probably the most followed.

Another bunch of people who have continued to find their way into gossip magazines in recent years is footballers' wives. They are always beaautiful, but is that enough to make them famous? Granted, some footballers wives had careers before but a lot of the time, their fame is through their husbands.

It seems that all you have to do to become famous now is be reasonably attractive and do something scandalous or stupid. Many people who have had affairs with celebrities have made a name for themselves, albeit short lived.

What kills me about these people is – why would anyone want to be famous for causing controversy? Some people say that any publicity is good publicity but is that really true? I know for sure that if I did something shocking that pushed me into the public eye, my family would disown me and no amount of money would make up for that.

Being famous used to require a talent. Singers used to be able to sing, actors used to be able to act and dancers used to be able to dance. Unfortunately, in these times those things aren't always true.

Learn more about this author, Kyra Lennon.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.