DR UBALDINA NORONHA
There is a curious contradiction in the way we respond to celebrities. Goa too participates in this culture of celebrity admiration. A film or television star visiting the State, a popular sportsperson appearing at an event or a social-media influencer spending a few days in Goa does make a news splash. In a State where tourism, music, entertainment and public visibility are closely connected, celebrity culture naturally becomes part of everyday conversation.
Admiring a celebrity is not, by itself, unhealthy. Films, music, sport and public performance enrich life. Celebrities can entertain us, inspire us and sometimes draw attention to social causes.
Psychologists have long recognised that people can develop one-sided emotional relationships with famous personalities. In 1956, Donald Horton and R. Richard Wohl described this as a parasocial relationship, a form of imagined intimacy between an audience member and a celebrity.
The idea has become even more relevant in the age of social media. A celebrity may post photographs of a meal, a holiday, a workout, a family celebration or a personal opinion. The follower sees these regular updates and may gradually develop the feeling that the celebrity is familiar, accessible and emotionally close.
Celebrity obsession is common. One explanation is that celebrities may hold qualities many people desire. They may represent beauty, confidence, wealth, popularity, success and so on. Watching them can provide a temporary escape from the frustrations of daily life.
Celebrities provide highly visible comparison targets, but the comparison is usually unfair. The public rarely sees the ordinary, insecure, unsuccessful or painful aspects of the celebrity’s life. The individual compares one’s unedited private life with the celebrity’s edited public presentation.
According to the absorption-addiction model, some individuals become deeply absorbed in a celebrity’s life because the involvement helps them meet psychological needs related to identity, belonging or emotional fulfilment.
One danger of celebrity obsession is the misplaced judgement on the part of a fan. This is particularly visible when film stars, musicians or sportspersons are treated as experts on medicine, education, politics or public policy simply because they are famous.
Public attention may often give celebrities an authority that exceeds their knowledge. Celebrity endorsements encourage people to buy products, invest money or adopt lifestyles that they may neither need nor be able to afford.
It would be unfair to discuss celebrity admiration only as a problem. There can also be an element of aspiration. A person may admire an artist’s discipline, a sportsperson’s perseverance or a writer’s commitment to craft.
A celebrity can therefore be a useful model when the admiration is selective and reflective. The public should be able to enjoy celebrities without placing them on a pedestal. The concern is that people may confuse fame with character, visibility with wisdom and publicity with contribution.
A society reveals its values through the people it places at the centre of attention. There is nothing wrong with celebrating entertainment, but it becomes unbalanced when fame is treated as the highest form of achievement.
A teacher who changes hundreds of lives may remain unknown outside a school. A researcher who spends years studying coastal ecology may never receive the attention given to a celebrity’s holiday photograph. A social worker may quietly help families in crisis without attracting public applause.
The purpose is not to replace one form of hero worship with another. A famous person may entertain millions; another person may quietly improve the lives of a few hundred. Both may matter, but they matter in different ways.
In the end, admiration is healthiest when it returns us to our own lives with greater energy, imagination and purpose. A celebrity may project many possibilities in life, but their life should not become the centre of our world. The centre should remain our own relationships, responsibilities, values and capacity to contribute.
(The writer is Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, St Xavier’s College, Mapusa)
