Fascinated by celebrities? You just need more friends

By Ben Parr (original source Wired)

“Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and President Vladimir Putin were the top two global Google searches for individuals in 2014. Sorry! That’s a lie. It’d be nice if that were true, but of course it isn’t. The top two most searched-for living individuals last year in the UK were Ariana Grande and Pharrell Williams (both Americans, oddly). Yousafzai and Putin didn’t even make the top ten.

Our fascination with celebrity has intrigued and puzzled me for years. Thomas de Zengotita, anthropologist and author of Mediated, believes we care about celebrities because we idolise (or vilify) those who reflect our personality or values in some way. Being a fan of One Direction, Richard Branson or Benedict Cumberbatch (the second-most searched male celeb in 2014) says something about who you are and your personality.”

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