Social media microscope exposes private lives of public figures
From A-Z, celebrities are continuously looked at through the microscope of the public eye. From Brook Schofield’s 15 part TikTok series detailing a series of allegations against her ex-boyfriend, to AITA (Am I the A**-hole) and WWYD (What Would You Do) Reddit stories, viewers have become accustomed to knowing about every aspect of their favorite influencers’ and celebrities’ lives. Even before the age of the internet, celebrities have always existed, fame being allocated for politics, singing, acting, athletics, and more. Between scandals and scrutiny, journalists have always been around to report on the everyday lives of anyone considered a celebrity.
Have you ever wondered why the Kardashians are famous? Well, besides the family’s flagrant relationship with OJ Simpson and a few other celebrities, they are famous simply because they overshare. Keeping Up With the Kardashians provides a glimpse into a lifestyle that likely isn’t the norm for the average viewer. This, and several other reality shows, are marketed with the singular goal of getting the viewer interested by whatever means necessary.
Since the creation of social media apps such as TikTok and Youtube, creators have been using the same tactics: sharing about niche aspects of their lives in order to gain attention. Celebrities have also gotten in the habit of oversharing to the public, as their fame no longer stems from their talent, but the way the public interprets their personalities.
An example of this being the constant spoilers Tom Holland reveals, clips seen by anyone that wield a cell phone. Whether it’s at a press conference or on a talk show, he has revealed dozens of secrets to the point where he isn’t allowed to read the full script. Tom Holland isn’t the only celebrity who has fallen victim to this form of oversharing, as it’s natural for some celebrities to do whatever they can to be in the public eye, even if it doesn’t come with malicious intent.
On the other end of the oversharing spectrum comes the private and disgusting information, which no one wants to see. Everyone remembers when Howie Mandel shared what he thought was his friend's obscure COVID-19 related symptom, which led the whole internet wondering if he was in trouble and this was secretly a cry for help. However, he wasn’t oversharing. He, like many others, simply lacked a sense of whether or not something was appropriate to post on the internet. But not all taboo topics should be kept off the internet, as there is a fine line between oversharing and sharing lesser known information. There are certain instances where topics can be important to the viewer if the intent of the content is not to exhaust the attention of the people, but rather to educate them.
Oversharing creates expectations, and those expectations have led to celebrity backlash. Emma Watson, a child star famous for the Harry Potter franchise has publicly spoken about her negative experiences with the paparazzi, and how these experiences ramped up after her 18th birthday. She essentially stepped out of her 18th birthday party and photographers laid down on the pavement and took pictures up her skirt, because she was now “legal”. These photos would go on to be published in exclusive editions of the British Tabloids. Not only is this a massive invasion of privacy, but the fact that it started the moment she became a legal adult furthers the paparazzis misguided sense of righteousness.
In more recent news, Chappell Roan has been slammed after she spoke about negative experiences involving the paparazzi; after several of them showed up to her house in search of any information they could profit from. Shortly after the interaction, she posted a video in which she was very distraught about the encounter and complained about the lack of privacy she has as a celebrity.
Most likely to her surprise, this video was met with a ton of backlash, as fans felt that by becoming a celebrity she had accepted this invasion of privacy. After all this had blown over, she experienced another negative interaction with the paparazzi at the VMAs when she cursed out a photographer after he told her to shut up (with the addition of unnecessary expletives) while she was talking to reporters about upcoming projects. Unlike her previous incident, the internet was rightly on her side, and several other celebrities flocked to her defense.
This entire chain of events involving Chappell Roan serves as a cautionary tale of what happens when the public garners high expectations of celebrities: it always ends ugly. Whether the celebrity or influencer is the one providing too much of a glimpse into their what should be private life, or if paparazzi take over the top means to invade a celebrities privacy, they are both contributing to the neverending problem.
by Henry Bongers
Published October 7 2024
Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue I