Fame is overrated

With the internet and demand for celebrity stories increasing rapidly, fame has become overrated and lost its value.

In the past, it took an extraordinary amount of skill to become famous. Nowadays, with the internet and social media outlets, fame has become much easier to achieve, and more and more people crave it. People can now become famous at the click of a button by posting a photo or video and going viral within hours.

Fame has its luxuries like expensive cars and mansions, but with stardom comes the price of giving up your privacy and freedom. Say goodbye to simple tasks like going to the grocery store, shopping in sweats, or dining peacefully at a restaurant, and say hello to crowds of people constantly swarming you. Paparazzi will catch every makeup-less moment, weight gain, breakup, and breakdown.

Some may argue that fame would simply take away all their problems, but it can cause more issues by raising anxiety, depression, and loneliness as it’s

difficult to leave the house without be- coming a headline. Paparazzi are always there to follow, investigate, report on, and critique famous people.This can be exhausting and lower mental health as celebrities have a constant expectation to look and act perfect in the limelight. This pressure has previously driven stars like Britney Spears and Kanye West to their breaking point.

Celebrity gossip makes interesting, high-selling stories. The whole world is virtually involved in celebrity’s day-to-day breakups, milestones, and downfalls. These are the side effects of fame: losing privacy, security, and, sometimes, sanity. Wealth can also make it harder to trust people in friendships and romantic relationships. Fame does not guarantee happiness, freedom, or mental sanity, to say the least.

Everybody wants to be famous, until fame takes control of their life, and they can’t go back to being normal. The truth is, for those who have goals of peace, travel, and happiness, fame isn’t necessary for a meaningful life. I can make money, see the world, buy a big house, and most importantly, live in privacy- one luxury most celebrities don’t have.

Sure, living in a mansion would be nice, but not nice enough to say goodbye to my freedom, sanity, and security. I’ll take peace and quiet over fans and paparazzi any day. To a small-town girl like me, fame is overrated.