by Zack Mandell

Created on: October 21, 2010

Society has an intense fascination with celebrities which has fostered the development of entire industries that are devoted to commercializing the experience of interacting with celebrities as they move through their daily lives. Both highlights and the low points are shared with a global audience in an almost real time manner. The explosion of the Internet and its ability to allow “anonymous” commentary suddenly gave people the ability to interact with others. The result is that individuals will feel an even deeper link with the celebrity as there are now perceived shared experiences, even if the interaction is solely one sided and without the knowledge or participation of the celebrity.

The trend is not limited to the debutante type celebrities of Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian. Famous athletes (Brett Favre & Tiger Woods), politicians (Bill Clinton & Rudy Giuliani), and actors/actresses (Charlie Sheen & Sandra Bullock) are not immune to this intense magnification of their personal lifestyles. It could even be argued that the core nature of Reality TV is simply to build up new instant celebrities so that society can either love them or hate them, but regardless feel emotionally invested in seeing what happens to “their” reality star on the next episode.

A lot of people will admire the celebrity status as something to be achieved. The stars live seemingly glamorous lives and enjoy the perks of their fame everywhere they go. Bored in their office cubicle, individuals often use the celeb world as an escape from their everyday lives. Carlin Flora of Psychology Today attempted to explain the dynamic behind our fascination with this. She asserts that because of our access to them, we end up feeling as if they’re our social intimates. Says Flora: “Celebrity culture plays to all of our innate tendencies: We're built to view anyone we recognize as an acquaintance ripe for gossip or for romance.”

Ripe for gossip certainly describes the state of today’s celebrities, whose life details are provided to us through all forms of the media. We are included in the latest happenings and rumors, so we feel like a part of their world.  But with the celebrity obsession comes a need to watch certain individuals crash, or come down from the pedestal on which we've placed them. If you think about the most popular news items of the last few months, they likely involve the legal woes of Lindsay Lohan and/or Paris Hilton.

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