i'm your biggest fan, i'll follow you until you love me...
the more i think about it, the more strongly i feel we - as fans of our favourite music artists, film and television actors, and those people we respect in the entertainment industry - have a lot to learn about the fine line between normal admiration and unhealthy obsession/borderline stalking of celebrities.
don't get me wrong; i know it comes with the territory of being famous. i get that those who wish to be in the limelight, those who wish to share their artistry with the world, are in some sense willingly (and in full understanding of what comes with all of that notoriety) putting themselves in a position of having their privacy compromised. but there's a limit. or there should be.
i love adam lambert. that is not a secret. i'll tell anyone that, and i'm not ashamed to admit it. i'd love to meet him some day. i've met very few of the artists i respect and whose work i enjoy. however, when i met those people, i was very respectful of that wall that exists between them and myself.
i'll shake their hand. i might ask for a hug or an autograph (not both; i don't want to monopolize their time), but there are some things i would never do. i would never approach adam lambert or lady gaga while they were eating their supper in a restaurant or having a drink at a club. i'd never take photos of my favourite actor eating supper at said restaurant if i so happened to come across them. i wouldn't run up to them on the street and scream, "i love you! you're amazing, can i have a hug and an autograph, omg you're my hero, you mean everything to me." because there's a fucking limit to what's acceptable behaviour when meeting someone you respect who is also famous.
and i totally understand the excitement of meeting someone we really admire and maybe even love (even though we know next to nothing about these people apart from their public personas and the faux-paparazzi-journalist pictures and articles written about their endeavours outside of their work - you know, celebrities buying coffee or shopping for clothes or groceries - FASCINATING STUFF!).
and again, i understand the desire to know absolutely everything about a loved and cherished artist. but there really is a point where it goes too far. taking pictures of adam lambert on his time off, while he watches lady gaga perform in concert - that's too fucking far. i really believe that. let the man enjoy his show without photographing his every move. i know we're excited to see someone famous, someone we like very much, enjoying something else we enjoy, but it's too much.
and i'm not saying i don't fall prey to this myself. i do. but i'm recognizing that this is a problem, and i'm working to remedy it. i don't think there's any harm in enjoying an artist's music, in acquainting oneself with that artist's work, or speculating about an artist's regular life. i am happy when my favourite artists get married or have children, or begin dating someone new, but i don't want to see every picture of them together. or every picture of that celebrity in existence. it makes me feel like a total creep. when it crosses the line to that creepy, stalkerish, follow-their-every-move place, i become uncomfortable. and i feel bad.
these people are just trying to lead some semblance of a normal life. the internet has made this incredibly difficult, and it's rather inevitable, i know. but still, it's worth taking note of. and maybe it's worth changing our behaviour over, as well.
personal privacy is important. i truly believe that.
what do you think?
don't get me wrong; i know it comes with the territory of being famous. i get that those who wish to be in the limelight, those who wish to share their artistry with the world, are in some sense willingly (and in full understanding of what comes with all of that notoriety) putting themselves in a position of having their privacy compromised. but there's a limit. or there should be.
i love adam lambert. that is not a secret. i'll tell anyone that, and i'm not ashamed to admit it. i'd love to meet him some day. i've met very few of the artists i respect and whose work i enjoy. however, when i met those people, i was very respectful of that wall that exists between them and myself.
i'll shake their hand. i might ask for a hug or an autograph (not both; i don't want to monopolize their time), but there are some things i would never do. i would never approach adam lambert or lady gaga while they were eating their supper in a restaurant or having a drink at a club. i'd never take photos of my favourite actor eating supper at said restaurant if i so happened to come across them. i wouldn't run up to them on the street and scream, "i love you! you're amazing, can i have a hug and an autograph, omg you're my hero, you mean everything to me." because there's a fucking limit to what's acceptable behaviour when meeting someone you respect who is also famous.
and i totally understand the excitement of meeting someone we really admire and maybe even love (even though we know next to nothing about these people apart from their public personas and the faux-paparazzi-journalist pictures and articles written about their endeavours outside of their work - you know, celebrities buying coffee or shopping for clothes or groceries - FASCINATING STUFF!).
and again, i understand the desire to know absolutely everything about a loved and cherished artist. but there really is a point where it goes too far. taking pictures of adam lambert on his time off, while he watches lady gaga perform in concert - that's too fucking far. i really believe that. let the man enjoy his show without photographing his every move. i know we're excited to see someone famous, someone we like very much, enjoying something else we enjoy, but it's too much.
and i'm not saying i don't fall prey to this myself. i do. but i'm recognizing that this is a problem, and i'm working to remedy it. i don't think there's any harm in enjoying an artist's music, in acquainting oneself with that artist's work, or speculating about an artist's regular life. i am happy when my favourite artists get married or have children, or begin dating someone new, but i don't want to see every picture of them together. or every picture of that celebrity in existence. it makes me feel like a total creep. when it crosses the line to that creepy, stalkerish, follow-their-every-move place, i become uncomfortable. and i feel bad.
these people are just trying to lead some semblance of a normal life. the internet has made this incredibly difficult, and it's rather inevitable, i know. but still, it's worth taking note of. and maybe it's worth changing our behaviour over, as well.
personal privacy is important. i truly believe that.
what do you think?