Why is the Public Obsessed with Celebrities?

The general public may be obsessed with celebrities because they are dissatisfied with their daily lives. The media's constant watch over celebrities causes many to overreact to every move that some actor makes, whether it is a divorce or what they ate for breakfast. With all of the magazines, reality shows and celebrity fan websites there are in existence, some would say that the way that celebrities are viewed and fawned over by the public is reaching the heights of religious worship.

Millions of celebrity gossip magazines are sold weekly. They are located near checkout counters in stores everywhere. Cable and satellite stations broadcast celebrities and their personal lives around the world, making nearly everything they do public fodder. Internet sites such as Youtube and Myspace have made information and videos about celebrities even more accessible to the world. New technology in camera phones and security cameras have made privacy almost non-existent for any celebrity - or any of us, really!

With the media paying large amounts of money for gossip on celebrities, and pararazzi being paid large amounts of money for snapping pictures of celebrities, the bounties they seek have become more and more unflattering. The more scandalous the story or picture, the higher the price, and the more it will sell. People love a juicy story, which is why such media flies off the shelves and is tuned into more than any other. It's probably safe to say that people pay a lot more attention to celebrity lives than what is happening in politics or what is going on in their own families!  That may be the psychology of the whole thing.  It's an escape for us and a way for us to put our own lives into perspective.

With the popularity of reality shows, the fine line between what is real and what is not real is getting harder to define. Celebrities and their lives are a huge thrill for the average person who longs to live like a movie star or rocker. Thanks of the nosiness of the media, they are able to live the life of their favorite celebrity vicariously through reality TV and exposè articles.