The
Rise of the YouTube Celebrity
Once upon a time, there was a boy who was just like a lot
of us. He dreamed for a better life for
himself and his mother. He taught
himself to sing and to play the drums, and his mother thought he was so
talented, she made a video of her son. And,
as sheer luck would have it, that YouTube video of this 12 year-old performing
made him a world-wide sensation (Scaggs, 2010) .
A YouTube video of a typical kid had the ability to make him into a
celebrity; it’s interesting how You Tube is like the online version of Karaoke:
a person can sing a “cover” of a song, with varying results. The difference with YouTube is that, if one
is talented (and lucky) enough, you can become like the subject of this
story—Justin Bieber.
YouTube allows anyone
to upload a video in much the same way as Justin Bieber’s mother did. Founded in 2005, the website has grown by
leaps and bounds, and Google purchased it to the tune of 1.65 BILLION dollars (Feldman,
2007) . In Justin’s case, he became a teen pop
sensation and a multi-millionaire. YouTube
also has the ability to further the “cult of celebrity” our society seems to
demand. YouTube now broadcasts Justin’s his recent run-ins with the law, and depending
on who you talk to, Bieber is either a hero for overcoming his circumstances
through sheer talent, or he is another spoiled celebrity who has too much money
and not enough discipline. So where is our
interest in seeing videos of the person selflessly donating their time to work
in a soup kitchen instead of looking at Justin’s mug shot?
There is something sad about the way in which anyone’s
life nowadays can be viewed, analyzed and dissected in today’s celebrity-saturated
world. Celebrities like Justin Bieber
have their every move broadcast if they are “famous” enough. In no small measure to websites like YouTube we
can “create” stars, but we cannot change the nature of their selfishness. No matter
how the media wants to spin a celebrity’s life, it cannot change the
individual.
Look, I have no idea what Justin Bieber is really
like. Although he has recently done some
questionable things, he might also dole out soup to the homeless, or volunteer
for a suicide prevention hotline. The
sad thing is that’s not what we, as a culture, really want to know: We would rather focus on this:
“Beliebe” it.
References
Feldman, B. J. (2007, October 15). YouTube: What
is It and Why Use It? Retrieved from Surf Net Kids:
http://www.surfnetkids.com/
Scaggs, A. (2010, April 29). Welcome
to Justin Bieber's World. Retrieved from The Rolling Stone:
http://www.rollingstone.com/
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