Fandom: Celebrity Worship Syndrome

In this day in time, society is obsessed with the lives of the rich and the famous. From gossip magazines and websites to newspaper headlines and breaking news stories, celebrity news is of great importance in society as they are always being observed, reported on, and discussed. Though this is not a new type of fandom, our advanced technology has made the viewing of celebrities everyday living, even their most intimate moments, so accessible and so available that one no longer needs any sort of talent or intellect to become a celebrity. A great number of people read about, seek information on, talk about, and follow celebrity news all the time. As discussed by James Chapman in the Daily Mail in 2003, this type of societal fanatic infatuation is called celebrity worship syndrome:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-176598/Do-worship-celebs.html

According to the article by Chapman, there are three different dimensions of celebrity worship syndrome. The lowest level relates to the entertainment theory discussed in Barans and Davis which “conceptualizes and explicates key psychological mechanisms underlying audience and enjoyment of entertainment-oriented media content” (249). In this first dimension, fans are drawn to the celebrities in a casual way, taking pleasure in the talents of the celebrity, and chatting about them with other fans. Fans of the middle dimension feel they share an intensive personal connection to and about the celebrity. The third level of celebrity worship syndrome is characterized by obsessive behaviors and fantasies such as fantasizing about marrying that celebrity.
As seen in the past, a fan’s love for a celebrity has become perilous. Do you believe that this “celebrity worship syndrome” is a real illness? Or is it too ridiculous, too difficult to believe?
In a second article, it is stated that celebrity worship syndrome is one that people should make themselves aware of since almost one-third of the world’s population is affected by this illness. Those who suffer from this have extremely diminished self esteem as well as depression and anxiety. As Jenson writes, “fandom is seen as excessive, bordering on deranged, behavior” (320). For those in fear of having this illness, the article does provide guidelines to help the reader diagnose the dimension he or she is in within this syndrome:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/312088/celebrity_worship_syndrome_do_you_have.html?cat=4

So is society’s fascination in the lives of the rich and famous a healthy hobby or a dangerous addiction? Even if a person’s celebrity-following is to a minimum, can it really be considered as just a healthy, innocent hobby if it has the possibility to lead to a dangerous addiction? Do you think it is more or less common amongst certain demographics than others?