Do Celebrities Influence Our Decisions?
Camaal Lawrence
In the new age of social media, celebrities are often put on a pedestal and seen as role models to the point where their word can be taken as gospel. They give advice on skincare, fashion, lifestyle and more. With the new COVID-19 vaccine coming out earlier this year, various celebrities from Ariana Grande to Justin Bieber have even posted themselves endorsing it or receiving it.
Most young people today have at least one celebrity that they really look up to, whether that be an artist, athlete, or performer. Bria Wright, a 12th grade student at Carver has many—but they’re “not very well known."
“I'm a pretty obscure person, I'll be honest,” Bria said. “But you know, there is like some that I really look up to. One of them is a YouTuber named Wilbur Soot. He is a musician, and like a very fun youtuber that I really enjoy. And another one that I really look up to is like an artist on Instagram. Their name is writesmess on Instagram, and I think they’re like a really cool person.”
Students especially find themselves wanting to participate in trends. But as everyday people who have to juggle between school, work, and activities, many of them don't have the time to do so.
“I've like thought about it sometimes, like there will be like art trends on like Instagram, especially like, with the reels and stuff. And like, Oh, I can do that. And then I'll be like, No, I can't because I don't have any time. But um, I would like to sometimes” Bria said.
When you’re a fan of a particular public figure, you might find yourself trusting their advice & judgement simply because you like them. Kristin Wilson, a senior at Carver and a fan of many celebrities, thinks this might not be a good thing.
“If it's someone that you admire, you’re like, Oh, well, I can trust this person. Because I mean, they haven't done anything bad in the past.” senior Kristin Wilson said “And like, well, I can trust them because I like them. And that sort of influences your ideas a bit. And I feel like that's not really a good thing.”
When it comes to taking someone's advice, most of us would probably listen to a friend of ours over a stranger.
“If it's someone that I know, like closely, like personally, like a friend, then most definitely I will take that over like Megan Thee Stallion or something,.” says Chelsea Walker, a student at Carver
People might find it hard to take everything a celebrity says as the truth since they're not the easiest to relate to. They're rich, famous, and their problems are very different from ours.
"When they (celebrities) were like posting about like, Oh, go get the vaccine, we'll get the vaccine. So you can help this planet get out of the rut that it's in? It's like, I mean, that's great and all, but at the same time, I feel like it doesn't affect them as much because I mean, they're rich. So like, they don't really have to go through like the everyday thing of like, you know, public transportation or driving your kid to school or something like you have people that do that for you, right? So I feel like that it's not as effective because you're not an everyday person. So it doesn't affect you as much. But I understand you trying to get your concerns out there and tried to be sympathetic, but I feel that it's not as effective at all."