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What is it? -

Fame is the state of being talked about and known by many people, usually because of something you've done.

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High level - There is ultra-fame. Celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Justin Bieber have this. They cannot even go to the grocery store to buy food. People know (or at least think they do) every detail of their lives.

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Why? - On the surface, it may seem obvious why you would like to be famous. People like Leonardo DiCaprio and Lady Gaga are constantly celebrated. You do not even know them and yet you want to read about them.

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Material perks - Life seems easy. On a material level, you would never have to worry about money. On top of that, you would receive many things for free.

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Social perks - More than the material benefits, the social benefits seem amazing. Your fame would precede you, so people would automatically like you. No longer would you have to make a personal effort to gain people’s friendship.

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Social perks - People would treat you well and you wouldn’t even have to introduce yourself because they would already know you. Your superiority over others is assured. You would finally get the attention you deserve.

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Low risk - Like Tom Cruise, your life would become low risk. You would never be rejected, never be disrespected (to your face), and never be poor. In theory, at least. Nicolas Cage might say otherwise...

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Overcompensation - On the other hand, ask yourself why you care so much in the first place. Often people who seek fame are filling a hole created during childhood.

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Neglect -

It could have been your parents who did not give you enough attention. As a result, you may want to prove to everyone that you are worth something more.

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Over attention -

Or perhaps your parents gave you too much attention, so in the real world you feel surprised and hurt that others do not treat you with the same consideration.

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Larger scale -

It could be that your family was looked down upon in your town, or you were socially excluded at school. All of these are some form of neglect.

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Loved by all - Fame, as we have described it so far, seems like a logical solution to a deep-rooted issue. You would not be neglected if you were famous.

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The reality - However, fame is not the solution, because it is not what a lot of people regard it as, especially for those who crave it.

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The reality - Along with the money, status, and power, comes a life void of all normality and, often, intense loneliness. What good are material and social benefits if you are not happy?

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Why? - Even if you know this, fame is still many people’s aspiration because if one is denied attention in their life, they tend to crave it even more.

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Addiction - Then the fame never becomes enough. You are already insecure and have now based your self-worth on the unstable assumption that fame will make you happy.

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Instability - Why is it unstable? Because you are trying to gain praise from millions of people even though it is extremely unnatural to be liked by everyone. But, you are hooked, and so you will keep on trying to gain more fame.

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Hate - Of course, with all the praise comes a heavy dose of hate (think trolls on social media). If you are a person seeking fame to solve a social problem, then it will be doubly hard for you to deal with public hate.

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Questions - It is worth stopping for a second and questioning whether it is normal for human beings to have such status and why everyone seems to want it nowadays.

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The original fame - If you think of fame in evolutionary terms, humans used to go around in groups of no more than a hundred. The “famous” people only received praise from a small cohort.

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Hollywood fame - Then, the rise of radio and television meant that some people achieved global attention. But technology and social media were not yet omnipresent.

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Modern media - With smartphones and laptops, we are rarely away from technology. The possibility of fame is everywhere. If you are famous, there is no running away from both the praise and the hate.

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Platforms - Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and, more recently, TikTok mean that everyone is able to have a little bit of fame, whether it's a few hundred or a few thousand likes on a post.

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Consequences - In this way, many people are getting addicted to fame, whereas before it was not possible. It is all linked to the addiction to constant affirmation and craving for love.

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Debunk - There are three main arguments against fame. Firstly, the constant affirmation and love are not real–they are for a personality that you have created to gain fame. It is not really you your followers love.

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Fame fallacy - Fame, according to Dr. Edward L. Deci, a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, does not make people as happy as achieving personal goals.

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Wealth fallacy - Researchers have also found that being extremely wealthy does not make people happy. There is a minimum salary that makes life easier, yes. But, for instance, those who win the lottery are often no happier than they were before.

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Mental health reality - In summary, people want to be famous because they do not know or believe the reality of it. Being famous does not solve any personal issues–it actually usually exacerbates them.

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Unintended fame - Of course, if you want to be an entertainer, fame comes with the job. The key is not to yearn for fame itself, but to want to achieve goals for yourself.

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Fame and privacy -

If you do make it, it seems that those celebrities who have more private lives have a better time of it.

Sources: (ABC News) (Illumination) (The School of Life)

See also: Supporting refugees: The celebrities who lead by example

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