A news alert from CNN on my phone started the storm of information I have read on Justin Bieber’s arrest. From Facebook to Twitter to major news sites, his story is shaping up to be a big one.
Correction: it is being treated that way. Over the past week, information on Bieber’s actions has been inescapable, but why? What makes him worthy of this kind of attention?
According to CNN, “Justin Bieber was charged with drunken driving, resisting arrest and driving without a valid license after police saw the pop star street racing early Thursday morning.”
This is not the only violation he has received, however. The Rolling Stone website also highlights an egging incident, the mistreating of an Argentine flag and the possession of drugs. Typing in this celebrity’s name on a search engine will bring up over one billion results. It is safe to say he is getting attention – whether positive or negative.
Bieber’s mistakes play a part in the world of his many young fans that look up to the singer as a role model. Huffington Post wrote that fans sang songs outside of his hotel after the arrest.
One fan supposedly claimed, “It makes me want to support him even more, and defend him even more.”
The real question, though, is why should Americans need to know all of this detailed information? Why do we thrive on celebrity happenings? According to the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS),
“Among young drivers ages 15 to 20, 625 drivers were killed at the age of 20 – highest in this age category; 41 percent of these drivers were drinking.”
Bieber is clearly not the only minor who has had a sip of alcohol; nor is he the first to drink and drive. Is it fair that the whole world knows about his mistakes, yet no one thinks twice about ours? For some reason, we find a celebrity’s actions much more important than the actions of the typical person.
It is celebrity news that makes the front cover and is spread nation- wide, while everyday citizens who perform the same actions do not have those actions publicized. I agree that publication of life happenings is a part of being a celebrity.
Fame breeds curiosity of fans all over the globe, and celebrities should be aware of the fact that what they do one night could end up on the news a few hours later; however, does this validate the situation as a whole? Is it us, the fans, who drive the need for celebrity gossip?
“It is a perpetuating cycle that drives celebrity gossip,” Carly Oosten, a DePaul communications student, said. “On the one hand, the media sells this idea that all of the gossip is valuable to the audience in some manner, but they wouldn’t give it to us if we didn’t want it. The industry is centered on profit, and profit is based off what people want. People want gossip.”
Oosten continued, “Gossip is compelling because it provides people with a sense of longing – a lifestyle that they don’t normally get in their own daily lives. They live vicariously through other people through gossip. Gossip is something we don’t have to put a lot of thought into, but it causes excitement. It is a way to escape our mundane lives. Gossip can be understood by everybody… anyone can partake in it.”
I agree with Oosten and believe that we, as media consumers, allow the overkill of celebrity news. We crave it, and as a result, that is what we see on news alerts, Facebook newsfeeds and magazine covers. However, just because it is fact doesn’t make it acceptable. I don’t believe that Bieber’s mistake should be world news.
After all, when any “typical” American faces the same charges, he or she does not have to see the mistake all over the Internet and on the covers of solid print.