fitness

Twitter killed the Video star: How social media changed celebrity news, communication, and what it means to be famous

Once upon a time, celebrities were untouchable entities that the general population could only hear on the radio or see onscreen. Now, not only can fans keep up with their favorite celebrities through their phone screens, but they can interact with them that way as well.

Social media has infected everyone’s lives and has revolutionized the way human beings communicate. This does not exclude celebrities. With platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, celebrities can personally write their own posts, publish their own pictures, and generate dialogue with their fans (or haters) throughout the globe.

The "Oscar Selfie" - most retweeted tweet

The “Oscar Selfie” – most retweeted tweet

Celebrities use social media to stay relevant and maintain their fame, and some people use it to find it, with Justin Bieber as a shining example of one of the most famous people discovered from YouTube. Our image of the celebrity has transformed from “they’re above us” to “they’re just like us”–and with everyone’s access to a smartphone and wi-fi connection, they very well could be any of us.

How it used to be

Before accounts with customizable settings and verification checkmarks, celebrity titles were concrete–writer, actress, politician, and any information released from them was done so through a wary publicist or staged and prepped interview. Tabloids made profits off of fabricated, dramatized stories when they couldn’t get legitimate ones. The public relied on news reports for any updates of celebrities, and news outlets relied on whatever filtered information publicists would give them. Celebrities were only seen dressed up and at events, their personal lives a mystery unless caught in scandal.

How it is now

Of course, tabloids and other celebrity news outlets still capitalize on shock and scandal, even celebrity deaths, and online sources like Perez Hilton only amplify the prevalence of these stories. Public relations still play massive roles in celebrity image and promotion, and some celebrities rely on social media specialists to run their handles. But within these past few years a new primary source for news has emerged: the celebrity social media account.

Now, celebrities allow the public into their lives, posting what they’re doing, where they’re doing it, and who they’re doing it with, much like how any of us use social media. They make announcements, release new music or material, even debunk rumors on their accounts much like any publicist would. They unprecedentedly expose their personality online in ways never before seen from such high profile figures.

Now, stars post selfies with or without makeup, complain about their days, comment on current events, and make jokes. They establish connections with their fans, replying to them, favoriting, retweeting, or following them back, and post about their relationships, family, and love for their fanbase–which are usually equipped with cutesy, inclusive nicknames like Katy Perry’s KatyCats or One Direction’s Directioners. With a click of a mouse, celebrities can reach out to millions of people and have the potential to garner huge international followings.

How being a celebrity has changed

Lives of the rich and the famous are no longer elusive or mysterious; they are out in the open for all to consume. Being famous today means consenting to losing your privacy. And celebrities hardly ever carry one title anymore- Disney stars become singers, actors become directors, artists delve into entrepreneurship, activism, writing, you name it. And to garner as many followers online as possible, celebrities must also be foodies, fashionistas, comedians, world travelers, have a ridiculous amount of just as successful friends, and post it all over the internet for all to see and obsess over.

But besides debuting their impressive lives, celebrities show us something else: they’re people just like us. They go to the gym, they look ugly without makeup, they have bad days and good ones. Being a celebrity today means being a human being.

How becoming a celebrity has changed

Social media has also allowed human beings to be celebrities. Like the aforementioned Justin Bieber, many users have found fame (some only temporary) through their online posts. YouTube vlogging is now a lucrative career, and many have found their six seconds of fame through the video app, Vine. Fashion bloggers, makeup artists, fitness trainers, even funny looking animals have all found loyal followings on social media. Have you heard of the Kardashians, who have managed to become mind-bogglingly famous for having no talent at all? They must be doing something right, as four of them currently stand in the top-10 most followed people on Instagram.

The days of celebrities being on a pedestal are over and have been replaced by us all being on a platform together. Social media have blurred the lines between public and private, famous and unknown, glamourous and basic. Hollywood has given up the notion that celebrities are unattainable and inhuman, and the internet has created outlets for the public to amass their own fame and following. Twitter killed the video star, and it is only a matter of time before technology kills the “star” for good.

Waist Training is the New Black

I distinctly remember the scene in Titanic when Rose’s mother, Ruth, tightens Rose’s corset, while she urges her to marry a man for money. “It’s so unfair,” Rose said. “Of course it’s not fair,” her mother replied. “We’re women. Our choices are never easy.” Ruth continues to tighten the corset, Rose gasping for air.

Similarly, in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, maids dress Elizabeth in a breath-restricting gown. Later in the film during a battle scene, as she knocks a villain unconscious, Elizabeth says,  “You like pain? Try wearing a corset.”

Beauty is pain, as the saying goes, especially if you’re trying to obtain the coveted hourglass figure, which women have been attempting in unhealthy, risky ways for centuries, and continue to do so today.

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1886 ad for corsets. “FITS BABY TOO”

The corset, typically thought of as an archaic fashion garment, is now making a comeback with celebrities like the Kardashian sisters and Jessica Alba in the form of “waist training“- wearing a corset for hours every day to supposedly shrink your waistline permanently a few inches, especially in efforts to lose excess baby weight.

While celebrities post selfies in their girdles, many doctors are coming out and warning all the dangers waist training poses on women’s health. Doctor Oz, on his program, shows how applying a corset immediately shifts and compresses internal organs, crushes ribs, and causes acid reflux. The only way to slim your midsection, health professionals argue, is through exercise and a well-balanced diet.

Being fit and in shape is quite the trend nowadays, with artists like Demi Lovato posting pictures post-workout, studios for CrossFit and SoulCycle popping up and taking the country by storm, and “athleisure” fashion in style. Being healthy, or more importantly just looking the part, is a very important image to have in a country with obesity as an epidemic.

The stress to be curvy in the right places continues as well. Celebrities like Nicki Minaj, Kim Kardashian, Christina Hendricks, and Amber Rose are all notorious for their larger than life figures, despite how cosmetically or surgically enhanced they may be. In efforts to obtain bodies that resemble theirs, waist shaping may seem like an answer. If you want your butt to look bigger, why not make your waist smaller?

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Liposuction was the most common plastic surgery procedure of 2013, increasing 371% since 1997, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. For those who don’t wish to go under the knife, slimming hosiery by the brand Spanx has amassed multi-millions in sales since its creation 15 years ago, with founder Sara Blakely credited as one of the youngest self-made billionaires.

Fashion trends change with the times, as do societal views on beauty, but the desire for an hourglass figure with a slim middle never seemed to disappear. The wish for this look has only exacerbated with the increase of surgical procedures, slimming apparatuses, and constant mediated images telling women this is what we should look like. Millions of women fall victim every year, spending thousands of dollars to look a certain way, even struggling with eating disorders and mental illness from the societal pressures of having to be perfect.

This “beauty” is not reality. Risking your health and finances to change your body’s natural shape poses many more risks than what it’s worth. Articles of women trying waist training and satirizing it have been posted online, and artists like Demi Lovato talk about their struggles with body image and urge women and girls to find self-acceptance.

Yes, feminine beauty pressures are unfair. But let’s make this choice an easy one- love your body just the way it is.