91,174,611 people follow Justin Bieber on Twitter. 91 million people. That is more people that than the amount go to Disney World in a year, more people than those who go to Times Square each year and more people than those who watch "The Bachelor." While following someone on Twitter is not a literal term, to an extent we really do follow people. We all obsess over celebrities’ latest fashion, hairstyles and makeup. We obsess over the latest relationships. We obsess over celebrity feuds. Why? Why do we spend so much time focusing on celebrities?
Reading about celebrities’ lives is a diversion from our own life. It’s an escape into another world that does not concern us. And oftentimes, inspires our own lives to make improvements. However, celebrities often time only post the glitz and glamour of their lives, not the high stress components. Think about your favorite celebrity. Have you ever seen them post their countless hours rehearsing lines, repeating a scene an absurd amount of times, working out to have the perfect shape or discussing their next public appearance to continue the fame? Being a celebrity can have its glamorous moments, but we do forget about the false impression of perfect they display to us. This contradictorily places the stress on us to emulate their perfection. This idea only leads to frustration. The truth is we can’t be perfect. Perfection is not human.
So, let’s put our focus on more human people. People that have risen through the ranks not for fame and not for perfection. People that only have deserved recognition, but for a brief second; let's focus on heroes. I love CNN Heroes. The idea of celebrities playing tribute to heroes reminds us the importance of giving back in life. Instead of scrolling on Instagram, looking at the latest celebrity gossip, these heroes have stood up to make a change. They stood up to make a difference and could not be stopped. We glorify Marvel superheroes like Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, but we only give 10 seconds of fame to these real life heroes. The sad part is there are heroes among us who will never be noticed.
So, I challenge you: open your eyes. Realize that, yes, keeping up with celebrities can be a stress relief, but can also be a source of self-destruction. To keep out this component of self-destruction, focus on a hero like Malala Yousazfai or Kyle Carpenter. These people have defied life’s odds, put their life on the line for the good of others. They displayed traits that we should try to imitate and made the world a better place. So this week, watch yourself to see what you are scrolling and see on your social media and does it place on unrealistic standard on you or challenge you to be a better person?
