Celebrities have manifested a power to evolve our social and economic status thru different means: magazines, movies screaming to be read and watched, televisions or internet blogs. In this article Gad Saad is trying to speculate how celebrities have shaped the consumer behavior by their grandiosity in our society today. He also explains how they are being engaged to “none of their business” and complex topics such as science and politics issues. Many famous celebrities contradict some science explanations like psychiatry and theory of evolution because of their influence. There are five reasons mentioned in this object why celebrities are being involved in this matter. First, celebrities are self-selected group of narcissist. They are driven largely by outlandish outcomes like fame, money and adulation; many celebrity-wannabes are driven by these phenomenon. Second, people are showering extraordinary attention to them and as a narcissist, it definitely feeds their ego. Next, celebrities are seldom exposed to negative feedback. Failure to receive any such feedback results to an overconfidence bias. Fourth reason is their suffering from existential guilt or survival guilt. It is an outcome when the anxiety indicators are disregarded and no action is taken. Celebrities tend to think that they are much more than “mere celebrities” and that there’s something in them that can cure the world’s issues and that they can “disprove” the evolutionary theory. Last cause that Saad stated was celebrities’ pseudo-intellectual movement or postmodernism. It’s stated that all viewpoints are welcome and this creates democratization of opinions. As a result, celebrities involved themselves and feel sufficiently knowledgeable to contribute to complex issues in physics, psychiatry, medicine and biology. Gad Saad is trying to explicate how famous people have affected the society and the consumers. In general, Saad wanted to point that celebrities are for entertainment and science is for scientist.
Homo Consumericus is a neologism used by Gad Saad in his book entitled “The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption” and also a title of his blog site. The term means consumerist person or clearly, person as a consumer. As an evolutionary behavioral scientist and professor of Marketing, he reveals the reasons how we come to make selections such as choosing a mate, the foods we eat, the gifts that we offer, and more. It also highlights how numerous forms of dark side consumption, including pathological gambling, compulsive buying, pornographic addiction, and eating disorders, possess a Darwinian etiology (Saad Gad. n.pag).
It is very evident how celebrities affect the homo consumericus behaviors in this generation. Perhaps, you buy a very expensive Louis Vuitton stuff because it is endorsed by Angelina Jolie. Going to a concert even though you’re in the general admission section just to get a glance of Christina Aguilera is also an example how celebrities impact consumerism. Undeniably, celebrities took a very huge influence in our society nowadays. In fact not just in the entertainment or advertising field but also in some major and deeper issues such as science or politics. But could their grandiosity cure the world’s ill? How does the concept of narcissism affect humans? Are they competitive enough to explain world’s issues? Do they really make sense in expressing their opinions by contradicting science? Are they qualified enough to be involved in an “out of scope” issue?
Those are the questions that Gad Saad answered in his article. He cited reasons and examples why celebrities engage in some complex issues. Being a man of science and knowledgeable in marketing, he noticed some psychological demeanor that celebrities possess. Primarily, Saad explained that being in the limelight, celebrities inclined to build a self-centered attitude. He stated that celebs are group of narcissist. And because these people are not often exposed to negative feedbacks, they have a tendency to think that they are unique; that they are not just simple celebrities. This results to overconfidence bias. People are also demonstrating exaggerated acts towards this people (such as fans and stalkers) every single day that contribute to their being egocentric, leading Tom Cruise to believe that he is a superhero! Celebrities are also believed to be pseudo intellectuals, meaning a person who pretends an interest in intellectual matters for reasons of status (Dictionary.com. n.pag). They express their opinions as if they really know the answers to societies’ problem. They even criticize studies about science as well as involving themselves in politics and other social issues. Maybe, that’s their other way to be called “famous”. I can’t imagine appointing Paris Hilton as negotiator or an advocate of anti-terrorist campaign (she’s famous, maybe terrorists would listen to her!).
Many people idolize celebrities because of their pretty image; we admire how they make millions of dollars by showing their perfect faces or sexy appearance on televisions and mags. We know that they are molded to be like that. But there should also be restrictions. There’s nothing wrong in expressing your opinion because we have the confidence to do that. However, it is also right that celebrities should “[e]ntertain us at the movies and in concert halls, and leave the science for scientists” (Saad Gad. n.pag). And as per the well-known but not a celeb, Confucius said: “When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it—this is knowledge”. It means that knowledge is not in knowing everything, but in understanding what you don’t know.
It is important to note that the point of this paper is not to label all celebrities as bad or evil. But rather to get people to think about that each field or career has its own responsibilities. And to let people know how narcissism and other psychological behavior affect humans.
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