Celebrity worship has been criticized for pathologizing fans of celebrities.
History of Celebrity Worship
The concept of parasocial relationships, a one-sided relationship between a viewer and a media persona, was introduced by Donald Horton and R. Richard Wohl in 1956. These scholars observed that an increase in media such as radio shows and television had allowed consumers to develop the illusion of a relationship with figures they only knew through media. In 2002, in response to the growing interest and media coverage of celebrities and their private lives, Lynn McCutcheon and colleagues proposed the concept of celebrity worship and the Celebrity Attitude Scale to measure it. They suggested that while it was normal for children and adolescents to become intensely interested in celebrities and to use them as role models, this “celebrity worship” should decrease with age. Yet, the increase in information available about celebrities had caused some adults to engage in celebrity worship as well, which the researchers claimed could be dysfunctional and even, in the most extreme cases, pathological. In the 20 years since it was initially proposed, celebrity worship has increasingly become the subject of research. Moreover, due to the introduction of social media such as Instagram and Twitter, people have more access to information about celebrities than ever, including posts and messages that appear to come directly from the celebrities themselves.
The Absorption-Addiction Model
In their initial discussion of the concept, McCutcheon and colleagues proposed the Absorption-Addiction Model of celebrity worship. While this will help them solidify their identities and fulfill their social needs in the short term, the model suggests that, much like an addiction, these individuals will develop a tolerance for the absorption they feel, requiring them to go to greater extremes in pursuit of information about their favorite celebrity, sometimes leading to obsession and dysfunctional behaviors, such as stalking. Subsequent studies have found support for this model. These levels are considered progressive such that those who reach the borderline-pathological level must pass through the entertainment-social and then the intense-personal levels of celebrity worship first. As a result, although most celebrity worshippers never move past the entertainment-social level, according to McCutcheon and colleagues’ conceptualization, anyone who falls into even this lowest level is potentially at risk for unhealthy behavior and eventually pathology.
Celebrity Worship and Mental Health
Numerous studies have shown that celebrity worship is correlated with poor mental health and maladaptive behaviors, however it’s unclear if mental health issues precede celebrity worship or if celebrity worship somehow causes mental health issues. Nonetheless, a review of the research on celebrity worship found a number of reasons to be concerned about celebrity worshippers. In support of this, celebrity worship is associated with poor psychological health, including anxiety and depression, as well as anxiety in intimate relationships. Meanwhile, the intense-personal and borderline-pathological levels of celebrity worship has been found to be related to obsessive-compulsive behaviors. Studies have also shown that celebrity worship is associated with problematic eating behaviors and attitudes and that celebrity worshippers are more likely to feel positively about cosmetic surgery.
Criticisms of the Concept of Celebrity Worship
While celebrity worship has been widely studied, it’s also been widely criticized. In particular, celebrity worship researchers have tended to use the terms “celebrity worshipper” and “fan” interchangeably, even though celebrity worship has never been rigorously defined in the scholarly literature. In order to correct this issue, media psychologist and fan researcher Gayle Stever attempted to tease out the two concepts by administering the Celebrity Attitude Scale to a sample of serious fans who had either written letters to celebrities, attended fan events with access to celebrities, joined and participated in fan club activities, or collected a great deal of memorabilia related to their favorite celebrity. Surprisingly, the scale had only been administered to general populations prior to this investigation. The study found that not all fans were celebrity worshippers. In fact, the closest the participants came to being considered celebrity worshippers was on the entertainment-social level of celebrity worship, and even in that case, many did not meet the necessary criteria to be considered a celebrity worshipper.
