When we think of celebrities, we think about the A-listers such as Taylor Swift, Kobe Bryant, Meryl Streep and more. What those celebrities have in common is the lack of social media in their rise to fame. Overwhelming changes in technology and social media have changed how ordinary people view celebrities. The real question now is, how do people view celebrities in today’s day and age?
Fame 30 Years Ago
Celebrities and fame looked quite different 30 years ago than today. The rise to fame wasn’t as accessible as it is now. When you look back at celebrities who were discovered in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, many of them had a different pathway to reach their hallowed status.
Swift and her mother promoted her album by sending physical CD copies to country radio stations. Bryant was incredibly smart and received good grades, yet he was drafted into the NBA at just 18 years old. Streep earned a master’s in fine arts, then moved to New York City to pursue her acting career. The rise to fame wasn’t as easy as it is today. Celebrities back then had grit and their dreams. Now, technology has made a formula that many people follow to achieve fame quite quickly.
A few years ago, Jennifer Aniston had an interview with Variety, commenting on how celebrity fame has changed in today’s current time. “I feel lucky that we got a little taste of the industry before it became what it is today, which is just different — more streaming services, more people. You’re famous from TikTok. You’re famous from YouTube. You’re famous from Instagram.”
Aniston received criticism due to her comments, although it was not intended to be harmful. Today, many people have access to a camera, social media and many other streaming services that make it quite easy to upload a video. Especially TikTok, an app many of us enjoy and love.
With TikTok being such a powerful tool, it is no surprise that uploading a video can lead many to blow-up overnight. Look at Charli and Dixie D’Amelio, Addison Rae and Vinnie Hacker. Many of these TikTokers are expanding their way into the industry through their advantage from fame on social media. Many have pursued careers such as acting, modeling, music, dancing and more, with varied success. Social media stars aren’t taken seriously by other celebrities and even the public — maybe because many of these online stars are looking to be the next big thing and recording their every move instead of living in the present and growing their talent.
Warped Vision
Although social media has the power to raise someone to fame, it can also make many celebrities lose their value. TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube have created new labels for the next generation of celebrities, branding them as “social media influencers.” The name holds a negative connotation and many don’t like the label. Instead, many of these social media stars have adopted the label “creator” to be taken more seriously in the industry.
Many creators came to TikTok to advocate for their businesses or passions, to teach others how to bake, cook, fix a car or create a “boo” basket during the holidays. Although, that doesn’t seem to be the issue here. It is obvious that many are upset that these new celebrities only try to become bigger in careers like music, acting or dancing for more cash. Not because they thoroughly enjoy the art itself.
Cancel Culture, Real or Fake?
Lastly, we cannot forget to talk about cancel culture when it comes to celebrities. Over the years, cancel culture was taken more seriously. Although now the term seems to have loosened up. Many celebrities now are more private about their personal life, due to the possibility of getting “canceled.”
However, some celebrities have used cancel culture to their advantage. Take Ariana Grande for example. Grande was allegedly involved in an affair with her co-worker Ethan Slater, who was married and had a newborn child. Instead of using the criticism to evaluate her personal choices, Grande has used the publicity from cancel culture to promote her new album.
This has made many fans and, people in general, upset. Not only with Grande, but with many other celebrities that have been “canceled” in the past. The fact that cancel culture doesn’t really taint a celebrity’s reputation seems to make the general public lose interest in them. Many people wonder if cancel culture is even real at this point. Why do we give these celebrities a platform if they aren’t going to make any good out of it?
