The psychology of the celebrity followers

[pathrunner]

Those are good points. I don't wish Amber Heard ill. I truly wish she would recognize her situation and seek professional help.

I won't even admit to who I wanted to marry until I was 17!

[Sonic_Spork]

Originally Posted by SnazzyB

I'm not trying to be argumentative...but how, and why?

Not trying to argue the semantics of what is, and isn't, a "celeb follower" exactly, but I think that there are different versions of it.

I do think there's nothing wrong in the slightest about being inspired by someone, especially if you find that they have a very interesting character in real life, or stand for causes you truly believe in, or do creative work that is just WOW like some of 'em do. That kind of admiration is what makes their careers, and it's no bad thing.

But grown adults who have elaborate fantasies about how they are in, say, a relationship (or should be in one) with a celebrity who doesn't know them and doesn't want to know them... Or those who get so worked up about a celebrity's opinion that they disagree with, that they try to reach into their personal lives and threaten or harass them... That's wayyyyy over the line.

Somewhere in the middle, I think, is the thing I dislike so much, which is the intrusive digging of private dirt and the airing of dirty laundry that gets folks slavering over drama, the uglier and more scandalous the better. Such as, of course, the latest courtroom kerfuffle that has been shoved in all of our faces. I seriously could have gone my whole life without hearing about this couple's dysfunctional behavior. I'm on Facebook for the cat videos, not for this, and I was irritated that it was every few posts in my feed.

I'm also not very interested in their relationships, marriages, divorces, or reproductive efforts. I guess that if there is some sort of interesting family story (that the celebrity consents to share!) like how Carrie Fisher did that spoken word performance and talked about her family history and all...that's kinda interesting, but it's only as interesting as like, somebody's autobiography. I'll listen, but probably not on the edge of my seat.

Last night, husband and I pulled up an episode of Graham Norton where he was talking with Tom Cruise about the latest Top Gun film, and then we watched some other stuff where he was on the same show... I'm not the biggest action fan, and I'm lukewarm about Tom Cruise. I really just never paid that much attention to him. Kinda vaguely knew about something-something-Scientology... Of course I saw the first Top Gun a million times, I was a kid in the 80s. But I just don't really follow the guy. Well I was kind of blown away to learn the sheer extent of WORK he does. The stunts, the danger, the injuries, the training...my god, what an overachiever he is. Ya know I generally think of many celebs as spoiled rich people, but some of them earn every stinkin' penny, they really show up for their craft. And he certainly is one. I respect him a lot more today than I did 24 hours ago.

Still not going to Google stuff about his family or personal life, though. /shrug

[Spuggy]

Originally Posted by SnazzyB

I'm not trying to be argumentative...but how, and why?

Not argumentative at all, it’s a fair question.
If someone is emotionally invested in every aspect of one or several celebrities and follows their daily lives and talks about them ,writes to them or follows them on social media doesn’t strike me as the same as reading a biography or the occasional article about someone.

I might be interested how A politician came to power, or how an artist developed their craft, or how Joan Plowright started her career but I don’t follow them on social media or read what they do every minute of their lives.

That’s my humble take on it though.

[smt1111]

I think it's a form of entertainment for people or a way to find mental stimulation as they research these people and remember all sorts of celeb trivia. I have a friend who's fairly consumed with TV and movie celebs. I think she's lonely and doesn't have enough going on socially (she's retired).