In our society, an idolisation and obsession has been created around celebrities that was not prevalent a century ago, forced down the throats of the younger generations through technology and most importantly social media. 

The noun ‘celebrity’, according to the Oxford dictionary, is the state of being well known. This doesn’t specify any profession, but societies meaning of the word has transitioned from social activist to social media star. Nowadays, people worship celebrities like gods and many people failing to recognise their utter mortality. This in itself creates problems prompting the phrase “never meet your idol”. Everyone has this preconceived idea that even I’m guilty of which is detrimental to both the fan and celebrity.

According to the NHS in the UK children aged between 5‐16 years have an average of 6.3 hours of screen time per day. Depending on the child, typically the majority of this time is spent on social media platforms like Tiktok where anyone can post anything and lavish lifestyles and fame are frequently idolised. This rapid accessibility to celebrities doesn’t help the obsession that is circulating. Many studies have shown that screen time over 2hrs a day can hamper cognitive development making children essentially less intelligent. 

This obsession with fame and celebrities is also very detrimental to mental health with intense celebrity worship correlating to higher levels of depression and anxiety. This can be because of lower self-esteem due to the god-like image of celebrities. 

On the side of the celebrity, this unhealthy obsession moulds some people into something they are not because it is what’s expected. This creates immense responsibility and pressure on them not to mess up and be good role models especially since they are almost always in the public eye with no privacy or sense of self. Despite choosing this career, no one should ave to go through things this harsh just to be able to do what they enjoy.

To conclude, this unhealthy obsession with celebrities is detrimental to the mental health of both the fan and the celebrity shattering the illusion that clout and fame are all there is to reach for. The increasing level of exposure and influence the idolisation of celebrities has on the younger generation is extremely worrying and needs to be adequately put in check with something other than redundant age restrictions.