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Our fascination with celebrities seems to be endless. But if we look at history, we realize that humans are no strangers to putting people on pedestals. In Ancient Greece, people cherished its great thinkers; from Plato to Aristotle and Socrates, they had gathered an audience of admirers.

According to James Houran, clinical psychologist, “Historical studies show us that human societies have always had a need to ‘worship’ things — and sure enough, this was often special people in society — the best hunters, athletes, the most beautiful, the smartest, the most spiritual.”

We are many years past this primitive life, but celebrity worshippers still remain. In a previous interview with Bored Panda, Associate Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of English at the University at Buffalo, David Schmid, explained that our culture teaches us that celebrities are role models and we should strive to be like them.

It turns out that our fascination has to do with the fact that celebrities are about this contradiction: they are both exceptional and ordinary, David argues.

“They are more attractive and successful than us, not to mention a lot wealthier, and so we should want to be like them. At the same time, we realize celebrities are ordinary people.” This becomes especially when they mess up, go through a divorce, have problems with drink and drugs, etc.

Celebrities who are down-to-earth and have an approachable attitude that seem to remind us of “ordinary people” like you and me are particularly liked. Keanu Reeves is one such example loved by many people around the globe. Fans praise him for his humbleness and kindness, which make him even more relatable than many other famous people.

The worldwide pandemic made people spend more time on social media than ever before. Naturally, we became more engaged with celebrity culture. David explained that “The internet fosters a sense of intimacy with celebrities that we find very appealing; we feel like we share in their everyday lives and feel part of a community of people who also follow celebrities.”

People are incredibly attracted by this immediate sharing and sense of community in a culture where anxiety and isolation impact so many people. “Celebrities compensate for the unsatisfactory aspects of our own lives,” David said in our previous interview.

On the other hand, fans’ all-encompassing knowledge of their favorite celebrities can be seen as a coping mechanism. This sense of immediate connection we get when following celebrities on social media promotes the illusion that we can actually know these people.

Some dedicated fans can feel that they have even developed a personal relationship with celebrities, or understand them in a way that others can’t. ”In essence, people seem to confuse having a lot of information about a celebrity with genuine intimacy,” clinical psychologist James Houran argues.