When you read the array of cruel and unusual articles on plastic surgery blogs and gossip magazines (plasticized not excluded), you have to reach a point where you think to yourself, "why do I care about this?" There are publications that literally make a living by accusing public figures of doing something to change their appearances. They criticize those who have cosmetic surgery and bash those who show any signs of aging. So there is really no way for a celebrity to win. So why do we care?
1. We are bored with our lives and find escapism in the lives of others. Celebrtities just happen to have public lives that are available for our perusal.
2. We think we know celebrities because we see their faces quite often and we read their interviews. We may think of them as our friends, or we may identify with who we think they are based on their public image.
3. We are jealous of the affluence these people have or are portrayed as having in the media, and we experience shadefreude, the delight in other's misery.
4. We use it as a common language with each other when we don't have another shared ground.
5. We revel in the spectacle of hollywood, however ugly and tragic. This probably involves a combination of #1-4.
Do you have other points to add? Please leave a comment.