Saylorsburg, PA I think today's society is so obsessed with celebrities because we are constantly look for something to relieve the "boredom" of our lives. We think our lives aren't glamorous or fun, so we need to look up to those who we think represent those ideals. I mean, come on, who hasn't prepared their Oscar acceptance speech? :) Amy, 23
Baton Rouge, LA I guess we are so obsessed with celebrity because we are bombarded with so much information and so many commercial messages that tell us not to be satisfied with who we are or who we know. Celebrities give us the mythical, unattainable goal we can never become. It could also be that there is some grand conspiracy to keep us distracted with mindless goo while power, money and untold autrocities are accumulating that noone wants us to know about. Felicia, 34
Somerville, MA I think that today's society is so obsessed with celebrities is because we see them on a higher level than us. And when we track their lives, we try to find fault with them to make us feel better than they are. Another reason may be because they are so good looking and hot. Ray, 17
Toronto CANADA I don't know. *shrug* Escapism? The desire to reach out and touch someone? Karen, 20
Marshelltown/Ames, IA I suppose people are so obsessed with celebrities because they want to fill vicariously through them. That is why magazines like the National Enquirer are still in business. Personally, I think people should work more making themselves happy and be less concerned about what the rich and famous are doing. Ernest, 28
Washington, DC Are they obsessed with the people themselves or just the product, the entertainment? Technology has made the world a fairly simple place which has resulted in people needing something else to do with their minds. With the mainstream being as big as we've allowed it to get more and more people focus on the same products. I guess the basic answer is because people don't get out much. Alias Irrelevante They are the new pantheons. Before Christianity we had many gods and goddesses to worship. We also had heroes like Hercules, Agamemnon and Achilles. So I don't think its a totally new phenomenon just more wide spread because of the ease of communication today. Cindy, 41
Lowell, MA I believe it is all the air play the celebrities receive in the media. People feel like they know them and want more info on them. Sort of living vicariously thru them. Janet, 42
E. Brunswick, NJ Because we have all our primary needs taken care of and we take them for granted. . .. . We lack an honest, real spiritual community as a society. . we've lost our Gods to a very large extent. .so we create our own. . .we worship and admire them from a distance and then pretty quickly lose interest as they fade away and fall. . ..There's a beauty and a brutality to it all but it feels perfectly natural to me, it's a process as comforting as taking my next deep breath. ..I embrace it wholeheartedly mothmc, 35
Pensacola, FL That's a good question. Probably because the media is obsessed with celebrities. Why is the media obsessed? Because it's their job to be obsessed. Kristin, 20
IA USA