OPINION: Celebrities aren’t your friends

On Feb. 11, one of the biggest sporting events of the year, the Super Bowl will be watched by an estimated 75% of Americans. At this year’s Super Bowl, headlines have been dominated by global superstar pop artist Taylor Swift.

In an event that is known for its football, commercials, food and excess, the conversation is being dominated by a single person who isn’t featured in any of it. This is the epitome of today’s current zeitgeist.

Celebrity culture and the general idolization and praise of celebrities has had adverse effects on society as a whole. Parasocial relationships with celebrities like politicians, musicians, athletes and actors can be dangerous.

Celebrities feed on attention and will reward their followers with simple acknowledgments and engagement. This encourages a devoted fan base that takes drastic measures to protect the sanctity of their celebrity’s image.

This can be best seen with the recent conflict between artists Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj. After a scathing song made by Megan against Minaj, the cemetery of Megan’s mother had to boost security to stay protected from Minaj’s fans.

Nicki Minaj never asked her fans to do anything relating to the grave, but her fans took responsibility into their own hands to protect their favorite artist’s ego. This is an obvious problem with how we view celebrities.

Celebrities will never show the affection that many want from them, but the people in your life actually can. Instead of hanging posters of your favorite celebrities or tweeting about them, call your friends and family and tell them how much you care about them.

So much effort goes into praising these celebrities, but that effort could be spent showing yourself love. It’s time to put yourself over the celebrities that you are praising because you deserve that same praise.

Furthermore, blind idolization of specific celebrities can lead to very serious implications that affect the entire world. Celebrities can become so popular that they have the power to literally rule the world.

Individuals like former President Donald Trump and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky became real world leaders almost entirely off of their clout. The glitz and glamor of celebrity culture will always be interesting to pay attention to, but when it turns to unadulterated praise, things get dangerous. 

Zelensky, star of a political satire where someone unknown became president of Ukraine, used his social media platform and the attention from that TV show to run a successful campaign that many critics deemed hollow.

In 2016, Donald Trump ran his campaign on the basis of being an outsider in the political sector, gaining him tons of support from voters tired of typical politicians.

Despite this, many celebrities use their platforms to do things that are worthy of praise. It’s not uncommon that celebrities are popular because of the good things they do. 

Online celebrity Mr. Beast has been growing in popularity because of his immense charitable acts like helping 1,000 blind people see again through sponsoring cataract surgeries.

Furthermore, in 2018, basketball player LeBron James used his wealth and fame to form his ‘I Promise’ School in Akron, Ohio to help at-risk youth. The ‘I Promise’ school promised free tuition, free uniforms, a free bike and helmet, free transportation, free breakfast and lunch and a food bank for families. This is an amazing example of using the power of your celebrity to do good.

But even before the rise of social media, activists throughout history weren’t chasing fame; they wanted to make real change. These people became celebrities because of their dedication to a certain topic.

Praise and attention towards celebrities can have detrimental consequences. Celebrities are people just like us, and worshiping them is dangerous and wasteful. Time and attention could be directed towards something more worthwhile.

Praise and attention, the core of celebrities, can be a dangerous slippery slope. Changing how you view celebrities could alter not just your life but the lives of others as well.

Jalen-Thomas Kroger is a freshman sports media and communications, journalism and broadcasting triple major. Reach him at jalenkroger@dailynebraskan.com.