By Katlyn Kielminski
Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus are some of the top artists making headlines weekly. Their influences in our culture are real and young people are affected by them in many ways.
Michele Fogg, a professor of journalism and media studies at College of Southern Nevada, said that she has seen students’ over-attachment to celebrity culture. “I have participated in and witnessed several class discussions where celebrities are discussed as if we know them,” Fogg said.
This phenomenon is known as pararelationships. According to leading media expert Karen Dill in her book “How Fantasy Becomes Reality, “When we spend more time staring at screens and less time with actual people, one result is the strange feeling of having pseudo-relationships with mass media figures.” In other words people think they know their favorite stars personally, even when they don’t, and they try to emulate them.
Kaela Andriaccio, journalism major at CSN, wanted to be like country singer Taylor Swift. “I tried to dye my hair blonde just to look like her and it did not turn out well.”
Andriaccio said she was drawn to the country pop princess because of Swift’s sweetness and pureness that not many celebrities showed at the time.
Student John Uran’s facial hair was influenced by the band A Day to Remember. “I’m trying to grow out my beard like the lead singer [Jeremy McKinnon].”
Uran feels like celebrities have an impact on all of our lives. “We see them everywhere, so I could totally see why we want to copy them.” Uran understands why our generation wants to look and act like certain stars because they are our age. “If someone is famous doing something, or looks a certain way, of course we want to copy them.”
Zack Vergiels, CSN student, said he would curl his hair like Justin Timberlake when he was younger. “Not one of my proudest moments.”
Fogg said not all young adults are affected by celebrity culture yet there is an obvious upward trend towards being seen.
“Young adults in particular seem to be fascinated with their own image by taking selfies in poses and locations to share with an audience, even if that’s just their friends and family,” Fogg said. In effect, these people are trying to create stardom. “I think this is a reflection of a generation saturated with images of celebrities.”
Coyote Student News at the College of Southern Nevada 