Priorities

Last week America was obsessed with Gwyneth Paltrow’s divorce, and this week there is a media frenzy with news of the royal baby’s first outing. Most of our generation is either oblivious to the more important goings on in the world, or does not care. Either way this is a modern travesty that needs to be reversed.

It baffles the mind how our nation could go from separating ourselves from anything to do with British royalty 250 years ago, to having the baby prince’s first steps dominate our news feeds rather than try to understand the Ukrainian border war.

If asked who was named the “sexiest man alive” this year most Americans would scoff at such an easy question and quickly answer “Adam Levine”. However, when asked about the genocide under the Assad regime in Syria most people in our generation would not have a clue of how to answer and stare at their questioner as if they had three heads.

Our generation’s cultural knowledge is at risk of becoming completely superficial, if it hasn’t already. Instead of waiting on the edge of our seats to find out the name of Kim and Kanye’s baby or obsessing over what Beyonce wore to the Grammys, we should have been updating ourselves on the situation in Venezuela. But no. I have had multiple friends that looked at me in genuine surprise and confusion when I spoke of the Malaysian flight disappearance. They thought I was pranking them. And yet they know all about Gwyneth Paltrow’s recent divorce from Coldplay’s lead singer. If this is not a devastating wake up call that our generation has completely backwards priorities when it comes to things of cultural value, then I don’t know what is.

None of this is to say that the entertainment world does not provide anything of cultural value. The actual films themselves and the art created by many talented actors are absolutely of societal worth, spreading messages of change and telling impactful stories. However, it is when people of our generation focus more on the artist than the art that this sector of society becomes problematic and overwrought in the news. We need to shift our focus.

It could be argued that clicking on a juicy headline could just be indulging in a little harmless escapism. But I would argue that without moderation, this indulgment is turning the critical thinking part of our brains to mush. Instead of reading articles on news websites, the average twenty-something spends most or all of their internet browsing time on Facebook catching up on their friends lives, stalking exes, or clicking on buzzfeed articles.

What is worse is when people do happen to hear about these tragedies going on in the world and then still do not make an effort to change their ways and educate themselves on the situation.  It is worrisome because it has even developed into a proven and researched disorder called celebrity worship syndrome. According to the British Journal of Psychology, out of the 600 people studied about 200 of them were diagnosed with CWS and that statistic is constantly growing. With every detail of celebrities lives being splashed across the news, they have become more than role models or idols; They have become unhealthy obsessions. Granted most celebrities have complained from time to time about having no privacy, but that is usually when they are in the tabloids and news for their wrong doings. When they are in the news being praised and obsessed over, you do not see them complaining.

Media is constantly bombarding society with scandalous headlines and impossible standards to live up to. What is worse is how impossible it is to escape the media’s invasive and pervasive extremes. It is shoved down our throats, so it cannot be the consumer that is completely to blame. With that said, there should be an awareness raised about the importance of having different priorities when it comes to current events and their importance to our culture as a whole.

Admiring a celebrities’ achievements and using them to motivate yourself is one thing. Becoming obsessed with the details of their lives instead of being plugged into the world around you, which actually affects your life, is where our generation’s frame of mind crosses an unhealthy line.

Being media hungry is not America’s problem. It is the choice to consume media’s metaphorical McDonald’s instead of fresh farmer’s market greens.

Let’s put our generation on a media diet and shift the focus.