The Evolutionary Reasons to Unfollow Celebrities on Social Media
We’re primed to watch and emulate high-status people, but celebrity Instagram shows how harmful that can be
We’re obsessed with celebrities now more than ever. If we’re not reading lurid magazines about their lives, we’re following them on Instagram, dissecting their song lyrics, or convincing ourselves we really did see them out grocery shopping.
This fixation isn’t new: status hierarchies go back to our hunter-gatherer days, when it was always a good idea to keep your eye on who was on top. You could look to them to emulate their successes, and simply be aware of the social situation.
But although our obsession is old, our 24/7 access to celebrities’ lives is relatively recent. It’s easy to forget, but Instagram only came into existence in 2010. Beyond tabloid magazines and celebrity interviews, the advent of social media has given us more than a glimpse, but rather a full-blown view into the lives of celebrities. More than ever before, we feel we truly know every glamorous, gilded facet of the celebrity lifestyle. And that’s dangerous.
The reason we’re so obsessed with them is that we want to be like them. Remember, back in the day, it was possible to become like the most popular and…
