Why is Gen Z Obsessed With Fame?

Lights, Camera, Action!

What is it about fame and celebrity that makes the twinkle town lifestyle so enticing? Where did this obsession with fame come from and why do people, especially Gen Z, aspire to attain a celebrity dream status?

When picturing Hollywood and its stars, we often picture the glitz and glamour that accompanies their lifestyles, almost a Carrington-esque type of lifestyle. Even if fame isn’t really your thing, you’d be lying if you said you didn’t desire to have their rich, glamorous lifestyles.

Okay, so being rich is fun but what about the fame? Why do people want to be famous? To have millions of adoring fans? To have everyone know your name? I believe that this stems from the feeling of loneliness and a desire to be seen. People often start paying attention to the media they consume and the people behind them when they reach pre-pubescence. It is around this age that we are filled with the insecurity of “not being good enough”, alone or misunderstood.

Growing up and seeing celebrities living a life where everyone is clamouring to please them and be in their presence could entice them and make them believe that that is the way for them to garner the attention and affection they crave.

However, the obsession with celebrities isn’t a recent phenomenon. I believe it was initiated with the nonconsensual release of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s sex tape in 1996. It resulted in a scandal that had everyone talking. It gave people an inside look into the lives of public figures and they just could not get enough; which snowballed into today’s obsession with celebrities and who they are behind the scenes.

This obsession became mainstream in the early 2000’s with television shows like Entertainment Tonight and E! News who constantly talked about public figures and what their lives were like when the cameras weren’t rolling.

This is cool and all but we’re talking about Gen Z, who were born after 1996. What would they know about what transpired in the 90’s?

The obsession with celebrity and fame bled into children’s content of the 2010’s. Television shows like Hannah Montana, iCarly and Sonny With A Chance showcased teenagers living as public figures while living their everyday teen lives. It glamorised the celebrity lifestyle to a whole new generation. It was all bells and whistles while every significant issue with fame was resolved in under 22 minutes. Money? Adoring fans screaming your name? Meeting pop stars such as Jesse McCartney and Selena Gomez? Who wouldn’t want all that?

Even shows like Victorious that came a few years later showcased talented teenagers in an arts school honing their talents in the pursuit of fame. The show also birthed the career of a young Ariana Grande, who is undoubtedly currently one of the biggest stars in the music industry. This further shows Gen Z that fame is attainable, especially because the show’s audience had become accustomed to seeing Grande portray your everyday girl-next-door before she burst into superstardom.

Teens or young adults in positions of popularity was what Gen Z was exposed to for most of their pre-pubescent and adolescent lives. It’s all they’ve known.

With technology and social media, attaining fame is so much easier than it was 20 to 30 years ago. Prime example, Justin Bieber. Bieber caught the attention of his manager from posting covers of his favourite songs onto YouTube and the rest is history. After Bieber rose to fame, there was a spike in uploads of covers being uploaded onto the video sharing platform, with teens hoping to find the same success. This method did prove successful for other musical talents such as Madison Beer and Austin Mahone, who are also part of Gen Z.

YouTube is not the only avenue Gen Z espoused to gain fame. Social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok have proved integral to modern day fame. Another example, Addison Rae. The 22 year old rose to prominence on TikTok and has since garnered superstar status with invites to prestigious events such as The MET Gala. Rae had also attained a leading role in Netflix’s remake of He’s All That, She’s All That. This ultimately led to her signing a multi-million dollar contract with the streaming platform, entailing more roles in their future productions.

Parasocial relationships are also a driving factor for one to achieve popularity, as seen by people who partake in viral trends in hopes of gaining the attention of celebrities they adore. This can be seen on TikTok, where people often repeat a said action or video premise until their “faves” have noticed them. These posts are often captioned “Day 351 of doing *action* until *celebrity* notices me!”

One person who popularised this pursuit was Ellen DeGeneres, who often brought those who had gone viral onto her show and let them meet those they adore.

Additionally, today’s public figures have a different experience from public figures in the last 2 decades.

In the current age of social media, artists and influencers can control what the public sees and how they will be seen. Instagram stories, TikToks, quirky Tweets, they have it all in their hands. Take Kylie Jenner for example. The reality star was able to hide the majority of both her pregnancies by carefully managing what was being posted about her life on social media, until rumours swirled and her fans did some digging. However, if it wasn’t for the public’s intrigue, I believe she would have been able to hide both her pregnancies with her control of the content about her.

Artists such as Doja Cat and Lil Nas X have also made use of social media to express themselves apart from their music. They are known for their notorious activities online such as "goofy" Instagram stories and “out of pocket” tweets. It has provided the public with an unfiltered and entertaining view of their favourite performers.

So why the obsession?

Well if you grew up seeing people in your age range partaking and embracing the twinkle town lifestyle and status, with millions of people adoring you and were then made known that the tools to achieve said lifestyle were available in the little electronic box in your hand, which also gave you an unfiltered avenue to be loved for being yourself, wouldn’t you want to try to become famous too?