From the beginning of the public eye, there have always been individuals who could capture the attention of millions, whether it be for impressive acting abilities, or singing talent. These people are called celebrities, and we may not think about it, but these people set the bar for almost everything in our daily life. They set the tone in popular culture, influencing the all types of trends such as hair style, clothing and even certain products. Some people even strive to be exactly like them, or strive to support them, and these people are known as fans. Fans are willing wait for hours on end in poor conditions such as rain and the freezing cold just to catch a simple glimpse of these people. We magnify them and blow them up into these mega icons, keeping them under a microscope using the media and we forget the fact that they're exactly like us, people, just trying to do what they love and live their lives. We are so star struck as a mass population that we forget how to act decently and humanely around these people. It's as if we lose all our sense completely.

Some of the first male pop icons that meet up to this standard include legends such as Michael Jackson or Frank Sinatra, and female equivalents such as Whitney Houston or Madonna. Honestly, there are many more that I can name that are iconic and deserve praise but we would be here all day. When it comes down to it, there is always one or two superstars that really lead the generation in not only trending music, but style and among many other things that I stated before. The real question is though, who takes the lead in our generation of pop culture?

Honestly, there can be so many answers and opinions on this question, and there are many candidates that could take this position, but one pop icon that I believe has a huge social impact would be Justin Bieber. Now please, hold your scoffs haters, and fan girls, hold your screams. Whether or not you love him or hate him, you really cannot deny his social impact. Now, to someone else, it may seem different, but I feel as if he is the most talked about. You hear every little thing he does on every news medium possible such as "Oh my god did you hear what Justin Bieber did? He egged a house!"

Recently, Bieber has been getting heat for his no photo policy. If you don't already know about that here's a quote from the man himself on Instagram.

Justin Bieber's New no photos policy statement on Instagram.

Something that really strikes me there is the fact he says he "feels like a zoo animal." This is the whole reason that inspired me to write this article. Fame has dramatically changed over the past 50 years. Technology and Media has become modernized to the point where we created these ideal images of people, and we build them up, but if they make one mistake we tear them to shreds. Back in Frank Sinatra's time for example, we were obsessed with knowing the celebrity, or getting to know them. Now, we live in a day and age where we don't necessarily care about getting to know them, we just care about the image. The idea of being seen with them is better than actually getting to know the person themselves. Bieber further expressed his point of view through an Instagram video of Pastor T.D Jakes preaching about the issue.

Pastor T.D Jakes Preaching.

"One of the things that amazes me about being well-known and it's kinda hard to get used to, and I really don't like it, but I do it - everybody wants to take a picture with you," Jakes says in the almost one minute clip. "And they line up to take the picture with you. See, it used to be that they wanted to know you. Now they don't want to know you, they want to be seen with you, and they look at the image and walk away with the image, and I'm standing there thinking, 'You had a chance to meet the man, and you walked away with the image.' The image is the cheapest part of the person, but we are satisfied to live in a world of images at the expense of having reality," he adds.

Bieber reportedly and repeatedly does stop for fans, but usually most of the time it is because they have their phones put away. He is grateful them, and he appreciates everything they do for him, and he wants to give back, but not in the stereotypical way. Bieber wants to give them a moment they can cherish, and give them something more memorable than an image. Technology is a very convenient tool that we all use, but has it gone too far to the point where we are living through a screen? Justin Bieber takes the most heat for it, but many other celebrities have also spoke out. Lauren Jauregui, a member of Fifth Harmony spoke out about it online, and Alicia Keys has even took initiative to ban cell phones at her shows.

Technology is a useful thing, but is it going too far to the point where we are too consumed in it to even live our lives in true experiences?

I will leave you to ponder that.