Ironically, the person making the news ranting about our obsession with celebrities was in fact, a celebrity. Singer Demi Lovato announced on Monday that she was quitting Twitter and Instagram, but less than 2 days later she was back and more honest than ever.

She began a Twitter rant on our society's obsession with celebrity culture, complaining about how teens today know more about the latest celebrity breakup or who wore it better than issues happening all around the world. She even went so far as to conduct a Twitter poll asking followers if they could name one person on the FBI's Most Wanted List or all of Justin Bieber's exes. Unsurprisingly, Bieber won in a landslide vote. That kind of poll makes me pause and think about our society, and what this obsession says about us.

Now I'm no exception; I am the first to know the latest celebrity gossip and love watching and reading about celebrity culture. I even want to go into the entertainment industry after graduation. But I also try to read up on current events, public policy, and the news.

I know I'm lucky enough to go to a school in the nation's capital, a school filled with smart, passionate people who actually are more interested in politics than the latest celebrity scandal. I know that not everyone has that kind of environment, where debates on politics and foreign affairs are a daily occurrence. But in the era of Google, we have all the information in the world at our fingertips to learn about any topic in the world.

So why are we like this? Why are we so invested in the lives of people we don't know and things that will have no impact on our lives? Why are we more invested in Taylor Swift's latest breakup than we are about our own government? Why does it take a mass shooting or the fracturing of the EU for people to pay attention and have a discussion about important issues?

My guess is as good as yours. Maybe it's because it's easier to read about celebrity gossip than it is to read about climate change or ISIS. Maybe it's because we can relate to celebrities and their lives better than we can abstract ideas. Maybe it's because we are surrounded and fed this constant celeb news from the media, and with technology we can now constantly stay updated on celebrity lives throughout the day.

Maybe it's because we don't know where to begin. I was so intimidated by all the different opinions and voices around me, voices that seemed so much smarter and authoritative than my own on topics like social justice, economics and foreign policy, that it was safer for me to continue to just avoid it all. I didn't even know how much I didn't know. And I'm still learning to this day.

Like I said, I love pop culture probably more than the average person. But I can say that listening, reading and learning about issues beyond who wore what on the red carpet or the latest Kardashian news has made me an infinitely more confident, more well-rounded person. Loving celebrities and celebrity culture isn't a bad thing, but it's important to take a step back and remind ourselves that some things matter more.