Our Growing Obsession with Celebrity

Every couple of years, scientists unveil a new disorder that strikes terror in our hearts. No one is immune from the dysfunction that's currently in vogue; in fact, you might have it right now and not even know it. Indeed, researchers estimate that one-third of us are afflicted with it to some degree. The disorder I'm referring to is CWS, or celebrity worship syndrome. It's defined as an unhealthy interest in the lives of the rich and famous. Americans have long been fascinated with celebrities. The explosion of celebrity tabloids such as Us Weekly , In Touch and Life & Style , along with the rabid popularity of entertainment tv shows such as "Access Hollywood" and "Entertainment Tonight" indicates that our obsession is only intensifying.

Escapist Mechanism

While this phenomenon might appear silly, some sociologists say our celebrity-watching is a coping mechanism. People focus on the seemingly glamorous lives of the rich and famous in order to distract themselves from the harsh realities of life, such as the war in Iraq, uncertain global economic conditions and sobering news about tragedies such as Hurricane Katrina.

"These magazines are proliferating for the same reason prescriptions of antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs are," media critic Simon Dumenco wrote. "They dull our emotional pain." Indeed, a similar trend was observed during the Great Depression, when film stars like Clark Gable and Jean Harlow captured the public's attention.

A Religious Experience?

Celebrity worship is so common that researchers at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine created a "celebrity attitude scale." The levels range from casual stargazing to borderline pathological. While the negative extreme can lead to anti-social behavior such as stalking, researchers say a certain amount of stargazing is normal and that we need aspirational role models. "Celebrities can inspire people of all ages to be better than they are," psychologist James Houran, who led the study, has said.

It's natural to look up to individuals who get attention because they have succeeded in a society, scientists say. It's understandable to want to emulate their fame and fortune. Economist Tyler Cowen views celebrity worship in largely economic terms. In his book What Price Fame? he writes: "Fame has become the ideological and intellectual fabric of modern capitalism. Ours is an economy of fame. Our culture is about the commodification of the individual and the individual image."

But as with anything, too much is unhealthy. Some sociologists say our obsession with celebrity is dangerous. "Celebrity worship is akin to a national religion in the United States. It's one of the country's most invasive and dubiously valuable exports to the world, and it is the fast-burning fuel for a relentless, corrosive media machine that infects most every part of our culture," author Jon Katz wrote.

What's destructive about obsessing over the details of a celebrity's life is that you live vicariously through someone else, with some fans seeking "immortality through association," psychologists say. And by elevating movie actors and pop singers on pedestals, we're losing our ability to recognize true human greatness.

Getting Their 15 Minutes

Today's fame fever is aptly underscored by the proliferation of hit reality tv shows like Survivor, The Apprentice and American Idol. In fact, record numbers turned out for recent auditions for each of these shows. In a survey of British adolescents, more than 80% said they wanted to be a celebrity (e.g., a movie star, pop singer, sports hero or celebrity chef).

"The urge to acquire celebrity status is the ethic on which everything in our world now depends. Nothing moves in our universe without the imprint of celebrity. There is no boundary that celebrity has not transcended. The ethos of the zoo has become the new world order," wrote author Ziauddin Sardar.

What's odd is that is that you don't need to accomplish anything to become famous today. Just about any talentless hack can get their 15 minutes (think Monica Lewinsky). And that's perhaps the real tragedy of it all.