Social media has had a huge impact on the way we interact with each other, as well as how we view society. From artists putting out new music, to the most pressing world events, it is not long before these topics are trending on Twitter. Another thing that social media has changed is the way we talk about entertainment. Every time there’s a new episode of "The Walking Dead" or "Game of Thrones," thousands of people are discussing it using their respective hashtags on Twitter.
The advent of social media has also changed the way that fans can interact with their favorite celebrities. Following them on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat makes fans feel closer to them because they are a part of their everyday lives. Fans can see where they’re eating, who they’re hanging out with, what kind of parties they’re at and the list goes on and on. But most importantly, social media gives us a good look at celebrity drama. Before social media, our insight into celebrity feuds was limited to magazines and tabloids. Now, the whole scoop on who said what is just a few tweets away.
Why do we love celebrity drama so much? Sure, they are famous people who live luxurious lifestyles, but at the end of the day, they are still just people, right? Well, kind of. I think people are so drawn to celebrity drama because they look at the celebrities like characters in a story. The same way "Game of Thrones" fans tune in every week to see who is going to die next, Kim Kardashian fans are itching to see her next tweet to Taylor Swift.
With the Kardashians specifically, it’s almost a full time job trying to keep up with their lives. Every single member of their family has millions of followers on each of their social media accounts, and they each have their own lives and unique problems that they face. When is Kim’s next photo shoot? How are Kourtney and Scott doing? Who is Kylie dating? These are common questions that fans want the answers to. In this way, it’s not unlike questions about character arcs, story twists and relationship questions that can be found in serialized dramas.
A big part of why I think we view celebrities as characters is because the majority of us haven’t met them. To use another "Game of Thrones" example, nobody has actually met Daenerys Targaryen because she’s not an actual person, in spite of the fact that many people have grown so connected to her character over the years. This same logic applies to celebrities. Very few of us have ever met any, but we see them everyday on television and social media. I imagine that for people that have met celebrities, a bit of the magic and mystery surrounding celebrity lives wore off for them.
