Why are we hooked on….

Why are we hooked on celebrities, athletes and musicians? This was a topic discussion with my teenage sons and they made some good points. But first we were talking about our 2014 plans on what needs to be put on the calendar for 2014 when a commercial on TV came on and we got discussing the following.

What do celebrities and athletes and musicians do for us. They entertain us right? But why are we always hearing about them on TV, in the news, or even in the checkout lines at the stores. So we started to make a list out loud.

Reality stars, they are no one special, who really cares about what the Kardashian sister do, or what happens to that old guy that spoke his mind about his beliefs about gay ducks. The bottom line is all reality TV has some sort of drama put into it to keep our attention. So why do we care about them?

Athletes, this got interesting, we all agreed that they are overpaid crybabies, good point being is look at all the quarter backs in football last year that moved around or did not get picked up by a team, or these guys sign a new contract and get injured and are out of the game for the rest of the year, same goes for basketball and baseball, any sport now is shadowed in steroids, or someone is in court convicted of a crime, like murder, rape, drugs and DUI.

Movie Actors are in the same boat, I think it’s really uncalled for when people come out and say being an actor is like being in Afghanistan, or the actress believes that she won’t get caught drinking and driving, or they turn into some sort of tramp. We could really make a good list on this one.

Musician’s, surprising on this one we really could not come up with many bad apples in the crowd besides that girl that sticks her tongue out all the time, and that west guy who is back in court for the 100th time, or deciding that they are going to retire at the right old age of being in their teens with their pet monkey.

So why are people hooked on these people? They don’t help pay the bills, put a roof over your head, put food on the table or put you through college. They all have talents and were inspired to make it in their field but once they made it they all get greedy and selfish in their behaviors, are any of them making a difference to our kids, are they good role models for our kids. Are they really worth the money that they make?

So this coming year we decided that we will avoid all the above, we have better things to do than getting involved with all the above, we will not purchase anything that is sport, music or Movie related. Will have to keep an eye on the wife though.

I think it’s sad, back in the days I can remember great actors and actresses and athletes that were good role models, musicians were another story, but it seems they have cleaned themselves up more than any other industry out there.
So why are you hooked on these people? I would like to know so I can share with my teenage kids.

Reality Shows: Don't know, because I don't watch them.

Athletes: Here I am talking about the ones that go to the Olympics for example, can be good role models for young people, to stay persistent and never give up.

Musicians: Yes , they entertain us, but again, some of them are role models when they give back to charity, or do free concerts at Parks/hospitals, etc.

Actors: They entertain us, and if they are good then the movies are good. I got teary eyed when I saw Sleepless in Seattle for the first time for example. Other than that I don't really care about them .

I stopped buying magazines in my 20s.
Books and ATS interest me more.

My two cents.

We have been conditioned to idolize others because of their social status. This has been going on for thousands of years. People capitalize on this.

reply to post by rickymouse

I guess I am not one that has been conditioned to idolize anyone, if you were to ask me who my idol is I would have to say mother nature. She always give us beautiful sites, don't ask much from us and has the wraith to make us pay if we get out of hand.

Ah, the choices we make in raising our children. As you point out, the athletes, stars and media darlings have really accomplished little to advance mankind, as their endeavors have all be focused on themselves and advancing their own interests. They play the fame game because it's a fleeting fancy for the most part and they measure success in terms of money or fame.

In my home we discussed the stories of people who made a difference and many of our activities involved introducing them to people and situations that were focused in that direction.

I wish you success in your endeavour. If your family makes it an obvious focus your children will no doubt learn from it.

reply to post by 19KTankCommander


I could care less about any type of celebrity, especially their views on things, but I'll give kudos to people like Bono, though I don't listen to U2 or him. The only time I see him in the news is when he's doing some Philanthroper thing.

When it comes to sports, the only team I support is the Packers. I don't wear any ones names or numbers. But my world does not turn around them.

The only thing I care about by any of the artists and atheletes is entertain me, nothing more. Isn't that their job?

reply to post by 19KTankCommander


I like going out in the woods in the fall. I was conditioned to go out and hunt and fish as an excuse for this. I was conditioned to go to buy a camper so we could go camping. When you get older you feel you deserve better yet if you look at the underlying reasoning, you find that you are conditioned to spend money to enjoy yourself.

You don't need an expensive camper to camp, unless you are planning on spending a lot of time at the campsite. Going back to nature is a great feeling and being around others in a campsite environment is fun. The problem comes when you go in the hole financially and buy more than what you need. Seeing people with plush campers makes many people desire one of these. Then you have to worry about getting it dirty or smokey inside, it kind of takes the fun out of camping.

We not only hold people on pedestals, we hold symbols of wealth on pedestals. This causes us to have more stress, we feel we are not adequate because someone is always better than us. What happened to saying I am good enough. Why do we have to set goals to what we cannot ever attain. I know rich people and also some prestigious people and their lifestyle is something I would not want. I see that people lack confidence and feel guilt because they feel that others are better than them. I see that fans of people think that their being a fan makes them share something with the person that is their fan. The idol probably does not even know you are a fan and will probably not even remember you if you meet them. They have many people in their lives, they probably do not know your name.

I worked on a lot of houses and know a very lot of people. I recognize faces and voices but rarely remember someone's name. They know who I am but I do not remember where I met them. My trigger is what I did on their house since I tend to remember homes more than people's names. I wish I could remember names better, but that is not how my mind works. You see, the people who's house I worked on entered my world with lots of people in it. I entered their world with just a limited amount of people in it, I worked right where they live. I remember those who worked on my home well, I have things around that remind me that they were there. Material things can trigger memory recall. I can remember where I got most things I own. Every time I see them I try to remember the story behind them, this keeps me from forgetting.

My idol is nature. My idol was my father who helped to teach me what he could before he died at 50. I learned from what he did right and also from the mistakes he made. I learn from everyone. So everyone is a part of me. Every person who I have ever talked to is part of who I am.

Some Israeli/Chabad subcultures idolize the elderly. It is funny to see boys, yeshiva students carrying around Rabbi trading cards, with the teachings of various mystics and their other info on the back. I imagine them throwing cards down like pokemon battles or something. Likewise, their business community. In the US, executives like brokers are put out to pasture when they turn 65 (or even 55). In Israel and some Jewish communities in the west, the guys brokering are in their 80s!

Chinese culture has extreme reverence for the elderly as well. Africans I have worked with idolized education and advanced academic degrees.