Watching BBC News, I see that a new website is due to be launched next week which will track the movements of celebrities. Through JustSpotted.com fans will be able to keep an eye on their idols and where they are at any given moment. The idea, it seems was that people around the globe would be encouraged to keep an eye out for celebrities and then inform the website if they have spotted any via Twitter. The site has angered celebrities, so much so that Twitter has pulled out from the deal, but that will not be enough to stop the website going live on Tuesday because those running the site have other sources of information.
Well, we already know the world we are living in is one mad place, and this is just another lunatic idea. This website will be a stalker's paradise and, no doubt, we will probably see a rise in stalking incidents in the years to come. JustSpotted may need to have a permanent legal team on staff to deal with the various law suits which may be filed against them. Apart from that, one has ask the question, have the press/media learned nothing from recent events? More than likely if the paparazzi had not been so bolshie, and had more respect for celebrities' privacy, Diana, Princess of Wales would probably be alive today.
The excuse we often hear wheeled out is that celebrities have chosen to put their lives and careers in the public eye, so when the press follow them for stories, they should not be surprised. While there is an element of truth in that, common sense dictates that people, regardless of who they are or what they do, should be allowed personal space and respect which allows them the same rights and dignities all of us enjoy, including privacy. Again the media will say that people have a right to know - I'm not convinced by that one. I do not think anyone has the right to leer at other's people's private lives or misfortunes. Let's hope enough people have the sense to leave "celebrities" alone.
Of course, the message to those seeking fame - be careful, you might just get what you are looking for. In the last decade or so the rise of reality TV shows has allowed ambitious people a forum in which to become famous - Andy Warhol and his fifteen minutes has a lot to answer for! We now have people who are famous for being....famous! No talent, no career, just....a celebrity. That is another piece of lunacy of the age we live in. But it also reveals a hunger: people are looking for something, and think fame, the cult of celebrity, will satisfy that hunger. It doesn't - experience shows it creates problems. This new website is just one of the problems they face; although, given the insatiable need for fame some are nurturing, you might find some of them will be delighted to be stalked if it means they become a celebrities. Will we now have minor celebrities vying to get themselves spotted? As the song says, it's a mad world.
The excuse we often hear wheeled out is that celebrities have chosen to put their lives and careers in the public eye, so when the press follow them for stories, they should not be surprised. While there is an element of truth in that, common sense dictates that people, regardless of who they are or what they do, should be allowed personal space and respect which allows them the same rights and dignities all of us enjoy, including privacy. Again the media will say that people have a right to know - I'm not convinced by that one. I do not think anyone has the right to leer at other's people's private lives or misfortunes. Let's hope enough people have the sense to leave "celebrities" alone.
Of course, the message to those seeking fame - be careful, you might just get what you are looking for. In the last decade or so the rise of reality TV shows has allowed ambitious people a forum in which to become famous - Andy Warhol and his fifteen minutes has a lot to answer for! We now have people who are famous for being....famous! No talent, no career, just....a celebrity. That is another piece of lunacy of the age we live in. But it also reveals a hunger: people are looking for something, and think fame, the cult of celebrity, will satisfy that hunger. It doesn't - experience shows it creates problems. This new website is just one of the problems they face; although, given the insatiable need for fame some are nurturing, you might find some of them will be delighted to be stalked if it means they become a celebrities. Will we now have minor celebrities vying to get themselves spotted? As the song says, it's a mad world.
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