Is Celebrity Culture Dumbing Us Down?

At the moment, as I’m sure you know, our country’s not having the best of times. We’re trying to combat an economic downturn yet we have a government that seem content on keeping us in it, or better yet, make it worse.  The New Year kicked off with a bang when VAT went up to 20% and some parents will be forced to break the news to their teenage kids that they can’t have the careers they want because University fees are too expensive.  Bit dramatic?  Maybe so.  

Basically, those issues listed above, but to name a few, are newsworthy subjects I feel should have paramount importance when informed to us by the media.  With that being said, I popped into a shop to buy the morning paper the other day and what were the front page headlines? ‘Victoria Beckham Pregnant with Fourth Child’….Ok, they weren’t the exact headlines but you get the idea.

Now correct me if I’m wrong but who genuinely in their heart of hearts actually gives a damn that Victoria Beckham is pregnant?  Does it affect us in the slightest?  Will our lives change because of this ground-breaking piece of information?  No, of course it won’t.  Does it warrant front page headline news?  Unfortunately yes.

We now live in a world that worships celebrity culture.  It’s taken over how we see society and it’s rubbed in our faces every day of the week.  How many articles do you see like, ‘How to Steal Cheryl’s Style!’…’Get A Toned Bod Like Megan Fox’.  We are constantly being told to look like celebrities, aspire to be like them, and adore their lifestyles.  We’re obsessed with the rich and famous.  We want to know every detail of their lives, where they’re going, what they’re doing, who they’re dating.  So news about Victoria Beckham’s growing bundle of joy is the perfect front page story.

You just need to look at the television shows on our screens.  Reality TV has completely taken over.  Shows like X Factor, Dancing on Ice, Big Brother, Strictly Come Dancing, I’m A Celeb, I could go on and on.  They’re mindless and manufactured shows that are slowly destroying our brain cells. And don’t even get me started on The Only Way Is Essex!  It doesn’t matter how pointless these shows are, they will continue to make them because we will continue to watch them.

Now, the people reading this that know me are probably thinking I’m a hypocrite.  And I admit, I may be moaning about celebrity culture but I too get sucked into reading about ‘celeb gossip’ and I am a regular viewer of reality TV (apart from The Only Way Is Essex…I do draw the line at some things).  I remember dedicating my weekends to the X Factor and compulsively tweeting about every moment.  My former housemates can vouch for me when I say that I was solely responsible for the pile of celebrity magazines piled up in the living room. 

But, I do take pride in the fact that my life is not consumed by celebrities. I actually care about what’s going on in the world and despite the fact that I do enjoy some celebrity gossip; I would prefer not to see ‘Cheryl Cole and Derek Hough’s secret hideaway’ plastered on all the front pages.  That’s gossip I can safely say I couldn’t give a damn about.