Celebrity Obsessions

I was searching USAToday in the Life section of this online publication and was amazed to see how many news pieces were available for further reading if I just wanted to know more about this or that celebrity. While I’m sure this information is intriguing to some, it is not what I had in mind when I was looking for things about Life in the USA.

Unfortunately, too much of our lives are supposed to be modeled around the fictional world created by celebrities and their too oft-reported lives. How realistic is it for us to follow the everyday happenings of these individuals who live so differently than the rest of us? Is it healthy for us to continue to demand more and more information about them when it is just a constant reminder that we will never have the same amount of fame or money?

One Buzzle article refers to the obsession with celebrities as an attractive addiction that allows people to get their ‘fix’. Unfortunately, this culture is demonstrating for our kids that these are the type of people we should idolize. We don’t know what is really happening in Washington because Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are going to have another baby.

An Associated Content piece referred to the media craze around Anna Nicole’s death and the subsequent quest to determine the father of her baby girl. My heart broke for that baby as she was born into a world of disorder and misplaced values over which she will have no control. Will respect be a word in her vocabulary?

I find that I have a more difficult time respecting myself when I compare myself to others. Sure, I can boost my self-esteem in certain situations, but should my self-worth be based on the choices made by others? Do I expect people in my life to respect me less because I am not rich or famous?

This fascination will continue to amaze me. And, I have to admit that there are a few names that will get my attention when I hear them mentioned. But, at the end of the day, I want to be able to be proud of who I am and happy with the choices I made.