KOLI: Celebrities' personal lives are none of our business
Column: Talk More
In a day and age where the media runs the world, people often find themselves immersed in everyone else's business. Perhaps, a little too much for their own good.
Celebrities can range from micro-influencers to A-list actors and actresses. Some people dream of being in the limelight, while others accidentally become famous. Many people love fame, but others hide from it.
No matter how a person becomes famous, the public will always scrutinize every little thing they do.
Seeing celebrities express themselves to the public can cause people to look up to them because they are inspiring or admirable. Even social media influencers who seem to be "ordinary" are admired, but not every person has good intentions. Paparazzi, some journalists and even regular people can feed off of the publicity of celebrities by gaining access to private information without their consent.
People should be curious about celebrities to some extent. For example, people have a right to know the status of new content such as movies, songs, albums and products. But the public is not obligated to know personal and intimate information like who they are dating, where they live or what they do when not working. While some celebrities willingly share this information with the world, people must remember boundaries.
Not all celebrities choose to share personal information about their lives, and we do not have the right to go searching for it.
Ordinary people would not like it if intimate parts of their lives were plastered on different platforms for millions of people to see, so it is important to consider that celebrities may feel the same way, especially those who choose to be private.
Constant scrutinization can cause celebrities to feel insecure about themselves, what they post and how they spend their time. People can go as far as bullying celebrities out of jealousy or spite.
Celebrities have a right to live for themselves and not for the validation of random people with whom they have no personal connection. Just because someone has fame does not mean the public is entitled to know and criticize every aspect of their life.
This is why it is important not to idolize famous people. Idolizing celebrities can cause people to become blind to their faults or be too harsh on them for their mistakes.
One celebrity who has been talked about quite frequently by the media is American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift. For the entirety of her career, people always had something to say about her dating life.
Once again, people have come out and publicly commented on her being spotted publicly with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce. This has caused speculation that they are in a relationship even though neither Swift nor Kelce have explicitly confirmed this, even if they have shown some PDA.
Hypothetically, if they were to verbally announce their relationship, people are already so involved in their lives nothing would really change.
Additionally, all it takes is one viral social media post exposing a celeb's location to instantly draw a swarm of people to that specific spot. If the roles were reversed, most people would be uncomfortable with the media and public constantly tracking where they are and what they are doing and photographing or recording them without consent.
Why do people care so much about what celebrities are up to? What really matters is that they are happy and content with their lives.
One argument is that when people become famous, they agree to a limited right to privacy. People should focus more on their own lives rather than devoting their energy to people they do not and probably never will know.
While it is important to speak up if someone says or does something wrong, hurtful or insensitive, personal opinions on inconsequential things should be kept to themselves. This includes information such as who someone chooses to be romantically involved in, what they wear or who they hang out with.
At the end of the day, they are humans, too, and no different from us folks. They have a right to express their feelings and opinions even if people do not always agree with them.
If we ever find ourselves too tangled up in the lives of celebrities who we have never seen in person, let alone spoken to on a weekly basis, we should ask ourselves if it really is our business to judge.
Vidhi Koli is a sophomore in the School of Arts and Sciences, where she is undecided. Her column, 'Talk More,' runs on alternate Tuesdays.
*Columns, cartoons and letters do not necessarily reflect the views of the Targum Publishing Company or its staff.
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