Confessions of a gossip girl
I confess: I’m a celebrity gossip junkie. I’m fine without smoking, drinking, or gambling, but like many women (or scarily, some men, too), my vice is a daily fix of celebrity gossip headlines or a daily rundown of entertainment tidbits on television. Come on, admit it, too. At the grocery counter, you must’ve snuck in a copy of YES! or OK! Magazine in your cart recently. For no homogeneous reason, we seem to have this fascination with beautiful figures of fame and fortune, and what goes on in their private lives excites us…even if we’ve never even met them, we talk of them as if we have. It’s funny really: Information that would otherwise be of no real use to us seem to take on massive importance in our knowledge bases. We may not choose to read of CHED Chairman Romulo Neri in the Philippine political hotseat, but I’d bet we’re keen on the sizzling Tonyboy-Gretchen-Dodie “love triangle” that heats our headlines.
Sometimes, as I watch television or skim newsstands, I’m bombarded with headlines concerned with the Brangelina love affair, the bizarre Britney behavior or Piolo’s latest movie. The press scrutinizes and analyzes such issues which really have nothing to do with us, and that leaves me wondering, there must be more going on the world than this. Why are the soap opera-esque lives of stars all over the place and why are we so fascinated to devour all the gossip?
Perhaps one of the reasons for our love affair with celebrities is that we invariably perceive their lives to be more interesting and eventful than our own. A red carpet diva may own a private jet, go on whimsical vacations to exotic places and be seen with the hottest of the A-list. This is the so-called “celebrity high life”, life in the fast lane, which so many people are fascinated with.
Maybe there’s also an element of jealousy involved, and gossip magazines seem to revel in the misfortunes of celebrities - delighting in highlighting their bad fashion tastes, cosmetic surgery or family woes.
Thousands of years ago, fame was gained through leadership, bravery in battle, or a political achievement. Some of the first celebrities were Greek Olympic champions, and were given the equivalent of today’s red carpet treatment. The press was a long way off from being organized, but the equivalent notoriety was gained via commissioning hymns of praise to be written about them by famous poets, which would then be performed in their honor. Historians and hordes of followers would later venerate celebrity political figures such as
Now, even Lindsay Lohan’s lack of underwear or Kevin Federline’s latest flame grabs international attention. It seems what fascinates us as news has become the most trivial and most bizarre of things.
Yes, every now and then we’ll pay attention to what’s going on in
For years, the media has been the gatekeepers of the useful information, but with the ready access to the media we now have, it’s ultimately up to us to read and retain what information we find world-changing or just menial gossip. In our world where information from the trivial to the terrifying, from to the impetuous to the important is readily hounding our attention, we have to be mindful of a balance. All work and no play, may make Jane a dull girl, but don’t drown your media attention in the celebrity world. Despite the hypnotic lure of who’s-dating-who, designer gowns and riveting gossip, there is so much more the press is presenting to us: The crime rate, our justice system, business news, stuff that makes us think and act. If indeed knowledge (not gossip) is power, then we’re better off keeping track of the stock market than of Oprah Winfrey’s weight. Wouldn’t you agree?
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