Often, people fail to remember that celebrities are just humans like everyone else. Fans put celebrities on a pedestal, idolizing them perhaps realizing it or not realizing it. If a favored celebrity makes a decision, children all across America may feel the need to make the same decision, regardless if it is morally a good or bad idea. 75% of young adults idolize celebrities and consider them role models (Shaw et al. 577). This is an issue due to the heavy amount of influence a celebrity's decision may bring to young viewers and that can impact young viewers. For example, research found that listening to explicit music can bring abrasive and harsh actions. Likewise, being consumed with a celebrity and their actions can cause people to alter and change their own behavior to resemble the celebrity more accurately (Shaw et al. 576). Celebrity obsession can cause a young admirer to make negative behavior decisions such as drug abuse or developing an eating disorder.
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One major influence that celebrities have on teens is drug abuse. Drug abuse alters people's behavior and attitude in society. People often hear in the social media that celebrities are taking part in drugs and having to go to rehab in order to rid the addiction. Amy Winehouse was a musician who won 5 Grammy Awards and a widely influential individual. Unfortunately, Winehouse also abused drugs; therefore, many charges were levied against her, and she was sentenced to a rehabilitation center to cure her of her addiction. When this scandal went public, Amy's reputation went from being innocent to society to being a threat to society due to the amount of influence she had over her young admirers (Shaw et al. 576). Similarly, Lindsey Lohan was a widespread sensation until her addiction to drugs also changed her fans behaviors. Teens look up to their favorite celebrities and hope to be just like them, and in doing so, they begin to justify the actions of their idolized celebrity and deem them socially acceptable.
