Cooper Lewis ‘26, Sports Editor
Everybody has heard of, or knows a celebrity; the incredibly famous ones, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Dwyane Johnson, Kevin Hart. Chances are, you have heard these names before. Well, there are people in this world that feel the need to obsess themselves with a certain celebrity. They want to know what is happening in their lives at almost every moment. Crazy, is it not?
Take British influencer Oil London, for example. He spent as much as $140,000 on cosmetic surgeries, up to 18 to be exact, just so he could look like his favorite member of the famous boyband BTS, Jimin. Or even Tobias Strebel, a German TV star, who underwent numerous different procedures and spent tons of money just to look like Justin Bieber.
Now, these are a few extreme examples. Everyday people still do this similar type of thing. People will stalk their favorite celebrity’s social media account, will want to know their whereabouts at all hours of the day, and sometimes even forget they have a life not revolving around this celebrity. Their lives begin to center around these celebrities, and they don’t want to escape. This has a name: Celebrity Worship Syndrome (CWS).
Another variable that could be affected due to CWS is a person’s mental and physical health. A person may want to be so much like that celebrity, that they turn to taking unnecessary or even harmful pills. They could often compare themselves to their celebrity, and if they already have low self-esteem, this could really affect them. People with body dysmorphia—a mental health problem where people spend a lot of time looking for flaws in their appearance—could absolutely be affected by CWS if they ever developed it
Now let’s just get one thing very clear: being a fan of a celebrity is completely okay. Everyone is a fan of someone in the world. However, becoming obsessed with that celebrity is not. These are two very different things—one of course is healthy and normal; the other, not so much.
“It’s pretty odd, and kind of disgusting. Why would someone ever feel the need to do that?” freshman Josh Nakon replied when asked what his thoughts on CWS were. Freshman Tegan Wusthoff had a neutral opinion when he was asked, saying, “I think it’s a bit weird, but yet again I don’t know the person’s reasoning behind it so I can’t really have an opinion on what people like.”
So what are some ways to get rid of CWS, if there are any? One could start by limiting their social media usage. This will help them stay away from, or even forget about celebrities. Spending more time with others around them will help them forget about somebody else’s life, and let them focus on their own. Having a healthy lifestyle is important, too: getting good sleep, exercising, playing sports, or even doing yoga will help. So remember the next time you see one of your favorite celebrities on TV, watch them, enjoy them, maybe laugh every once in a while, and then move on with your life.
Lyon Life 