In The Public Eye
In the 21st century, as our lives are lived out in the public eye, nothing seems sacred. Our activities, friends, families, meals are all put out there on the internet for the world to see. I post about my friends, school work, life updates, sports, and even sometimes—when I am feeling particularly bold—political opinions.
On my social media accounts, I choose to put my life and opinions out there for the world to judge. However, celebrities do not seem to have been afforded these same rights in the digital era. Their lives are have become plastered all over magazines, Instagram, television, twitter, gossip sites: their every action becoming the subject of intense public scrutiny.
As an average person who runs a couple of personal accounts on social media, I get to control what is posted of me. I can choose to share some aspects of my life on the internet while keeping other parts private. Celebrities, however, cannot go out in public without paparazzi harassing them or fans wondering what they’re up to. They are shamed and abused by people they do not know, and it is omnipresent. Is nothing sacred? In our culture, celebrities are exploited for our entertainment, and we are a part of the problem. While I admit it is entertaining to read about the details of celebrities’ lives, we as a society often forget that it is real people we are talking, reading, gossiping about.
Take Khloe Kardashian for example. The world lost its collective mind upon the breaking news that her baby daddy, Tristan Thompson, cheated on her with Kylie Jenner’s best friend, Jordyn Woods. Something that probably preferably would have been dealt with in private sphere became the gossip of the public. Those involved in the scandal had no sanctity during an incredibly emotional and sensitive time because, frankly, we all wanted the tea.
And the list of celebrities in the headlines feeding our insatiable hunger for gossip is every growing. Take 19 year old youtuber Olivia Jade. Recently, she was incriminated in the college admissions scandal finds herself weak to the power of the public. All eyes have been on her since the news broke due to her almost celebrity status as well as the celebrity status of her mother, Lori Laughlin. Olivia Jade had to disable comments on her Instagram and Youtube due to the immense numbers of negative comments flooding all her posts. There were news articles about what she was doing at the moment the story broke and then consecutive articles about the how all of the news was affecting her. It is almost as if no one else is involved in this scandal because they do not have the same status as her or her mother. The public masses continue to demand more information on whether or not she knew what her mom was doing. They’re desperate for updates as they scour through her social media trying to figure out the answers because Olivia is not giving them.
We as the common people, the consumers, find ourselves enthralled in and entitled to the lives of the rich and famous. Therefore, when we are stripped of said access we grow restless and often times hostile in our protrusions and questions. While social media is great in its ability to spread information, and connect networks it gives almost gives us, the plebeians of social media, too much power. It has conditioned us to expect everything all at once. Social media and the news media has conditioned us to be used to having all the information we have ever wanted when we want it, especially when it related to celebrity gossip. However, that is not always feasible nor is it fair to celebrities. They should feel comfortable keeping their private lives private and not fear the backlash of the public. By taking away their right to privacy we take away their humanity and turn them into zoo animals.
By: Lilly Delehanty
Duke Student, pink purveyor and resident expert on surviving and thriving