Thanks to the growing prevalence of social media in our lives, it is now easier than ever to get up close and personal with our favorite celebrities online. From Facebook to Youtube to Twitter, the famous and the infamous are now only a click away. It seems like the stars who we once worshiped from afar are now so accessible, so relatable. For example, when an average fan can easily catch up on a celebrity’s every move via the internet, the celebrity loses his or her aura of mystery and the wall between the two seems to disappear.

This sense of false intimacy creates an entirely new problem: a strange and unnatural obsession with the famous. After all, if you can stalk a given celebrity’s updates on Twitter, why not comment on those updates? Next thing you know, you’re commenting on every single update and staying up all night to see if the celebrity has followed you back. You know the chance is slim to none, but you’re so attached to the celebrity that your actions seem justified.

I used to be a People Magazine kind of girl; I would pore over the glossy pages when I had time, fill my quota of celeb knowledge for the day, and then use that knowledge as a supplement in conversations when my socially awkward instincts threatened to lead me astray. The realm of the famous is easy to talk about — it’s harmless, like the weather — but it has become a social crutch for us to lean on, an unhealthy coping mechanism..

These days, there’s no need for People, given that I get far more than my fair share of celebrity knowledge just by traversing the Internet. In fact, I feel myself soaking up more celebrity news than I even want to — it’s everywhere. Even at school, I find myself exchanging the information I absorb online with alarming frequency.

I’m a survivor of the celebrity storm, but not everyone is so lucky. According to my definition, a casual interest becomes an obsession when it starts to negatively impact parts of one’s life, and I see this happening with a lot of people, notably younger girls. That aforementioned, theoretical person staying up all night to stalk a celebrity has an obsession and it’s unhealthy.
It could be that society’s increased fixation on the famous is just a phase, bound to fade away as we get more used to the Internet and the big changes it has caused in our lives. However, I don’t see this happening very soon. In fact, our infatuation is almost like a Catch-22, in which we lust after the beautiful, feel insecure about ourselves as a result, and come back desperate for attention, even more attached. It’s a cycle that may not break anytime soon.

That said, there are ways to combat the allure of celebrities, and they all involve putting the computer or cell phone away and making connections with real people that will return the exchange. It’s one thing to stalk Harry Styles on the weekend, but when he is drawing you away from homework, then there may be a problem. I know the boy has nice hair, but we have to establish limits for ourselves.