An article in the UK
Mail on Celebrity Worship Syndrome provided an overview of some
research being done on the condition by psychologists
at the University of Leicester. Celebrity Worship
Syndrome is defined by Wikipedia as an
“obsessive-addictive disorder in which a person becomes overly
involved with the details of a celebrity's personal life. Psychologists have indicated that though many people
obsess over glamorous film, television, sport and pop stars, the only common factor between them is that they are all
figures in the public eye (i.e., celebrities)”.
The basis of the
article was from the research conducted by Maltby et al (2003) in
their article “A Clinical Interpretation
of Attitudes and Behaviors Associated with Celebrity Worship”. They
developed a scale and argue there are
three levels of attitudes and behaviours associated with Celebrity
Worship Syndrome, entertainment-social, intense personal and
borderline pathological.
The
study of around 700 people aged 18 to 60 found “
22 per cent of our sample had the low-level form of Celebrity Worship
Syndrome (entertainment-social), while 12 per cent showed signs of
the moderate (intense personal) form which meant they had an intense
personal type relationship with their idol. Around 2 per cent of
people had the most serious form of the syndrome, meaning their
celebrity worship was borderline pathological."(UK Mail).
Maltby et al (2004) provides an
overview of the three levels in the article ‘Personality
coping. A context for examining celebrity worship and mental heath’.
“Low levels of celebrity
worship have entertainment–social value and comprise attitudes and
behaviours like ‘My friends and I like to discuss what my favourite
celebrity has done’ and ‘Learning the life story of my favourite
celebrity is a lot of fun’. This stage reflects social aspects to
celebrity worship and is consistent with Stever’s (1991)
observation that fans are attracted to a favourite celebrity because
of their perceived
ability to entertain and capture our attention”.
“Intermediate levels of
celebrity worship, by contrast, are characterized by more
intense–personal feelings, defined by items like ‘I consider my
favourite celebrity to be my soul mate,’ and ‘I have frequent
thoughts about my celebrity, even when I don’t want to’. This
stage arguably reflects individuals’ intensive and compulsive
feelings about the celebrity, akin to the obsessional tendencies of
fans often referred to in the literature (Dietz et al., 1991; Giles,
2000)”.
“The most extreme expression of
celebrity worship is labelled borderline–pathological, as
exemplified by items like. ‘If someone gave me several thousand
dollars (pounds) to do with as I please, I would consider spending it
on a personal possession (like a napkin or paper plate) once used by
my favourite celebrity’ and ‘If I were lucky enough to meet my
favourite celebrity, and he/she asked me to do something illegal as a
favour I would probably do it’. This factor is thought to reflect
an individual’s social pathological attitudes and behaviours that
are held as a result of worshiping a celebrity”.
The
researchers in this piece conclude celebrity worship syndrome was not
an uncommon behaviour. They argue like many attitudes and behaviours
carried out in moderation should not be of concern. Celebrity worship
for entertainment and social reasons was not related to any mental
health problems. However, when carried out for intense personal
reasons and the way they engage people may be at risk of severe
mental health problems including stress, anxiety and depression.
Celebrity worship is seen as a coping strategy and a way of
disengaging with life.
“Therefore,
it may be necessary to begin to speculate how it may be possible
to intervene when celebrity worship takes on
intense–personal characteristics to a
point of concern. The present findings inform
this issue. For example, those who
engage in intense–personal forms of celebrity
worship are characterized as tense,
emotional and moody (neuroticism). They deal
with stress by disengaging (both
mentally and behavioural) and by living in a
state of denial…As a result, individuals who demonstrate a worrying
level of intense–personal
celebrity worship and who suffer from mental health problems might be
best helped by understanding and addressing their emotionality”.
Say
yes to the following and you may have low-level CWS:
- My friends and I like to discuss what my favourite celebrity has done.
- I enjoy watching my favourite celebrity.
- Learning the life story of my favourite celebrity is a lot of fun.
Agree
with these more intense feelings and you may have a moderate case:
- I consider my favourite celebrity to be my soul mate.
- I have a special bond with my celebrity.
- I have frequent thoughts about my celebrity, even when I don't want to.
Agree
with these and you may be obsessed, borderline pathological and
suffering seriously from CWS:
- If someone gave me several thousand pounds to do with as I please, I would consider spending it on a personal possession, like a napkin or paper plate, once used by my favourite celebrity.
- If I were lucky enough to meet my favourite celebrity, and they asked me to do something illegal as a favour I would probably do it.
- I would be very upset if my favourite celebrity got married.
The UK Mail placed this quiz for
celebrity watchers to decide whether they or their friends had
‘Celebrity Worship Syndrome’. From the questions asked I guess
anyone who follows a celebrity on social media and responds to a post
written by them or to other followers/friends has some type of low
level Celebrity Worship Syndrome. A celebrity wouldn’t be a
favourite if people didn’t know something about them, seen their
work or enjoyed watching them do their work. This level of interest
was not associated with any mental health issues according to the
research.
What was
interesting about this survey was the criteria offered by
psychologists for the third level borderline pathological and
suffering seriously from Celebrity Worship Syndrome and the statement
‘if I were lucky enough to meet my favourite celebrity and they
asked me to do something illegal as a favour I would probably do it’. Lynda Elstad or @Lyndahere did take it upon herself to do something illegal which was
to make bootlegged videos of live concerts and engage in music piracy on YouTube. She then distributed links via social media and has loaded them up onto other sites for distribution. The other statement that
defines this type of condition “If someone gave
me several thousand pounds to do with as I please, I would consider
spending it on a personal possession, like a napkin or paper plate,
once used by my favourite celebrity”.
@lyndahere spends thousands of dollars on travel, accommodation and
tickets to see Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea and every show creates bootlegged videos for people to view on YouTube and listen to on other sites.
References.
"Do
you worship the celebs?Mail Online".
Dailymail.co.uk.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-176598/Do-worship-celebs.html.
Viewed 4 January 2013.
"Do
you have Celebrity Worship Syndrome? Mail
Online". Dailymail.co.uk.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-176674/Do-Celebrity-Worship-Syndrome.html.
Viewed 4 January 2013.
Maltby, J., Houran,
M.A., & McCutcheon, L.E. (2003). ‘A Clinical Interpretation of
Attitudes and Behaviors Associated with Celebrity Worship’. Journal
of Nervous and Mental Disease, 191, 25-29.
Maltby, J., Day,L., McCutcheon,L.E.,
Gillett, R., Houran, J & Ashe, D.(2004). ‘Personality
coping. A context for examining celebrity worship and mental health,
British Journal of Psychology, 95, 411–428
Wikipedia
Celebrity worship syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.mht.
Viewed 4 January 2013.
