Our generation is all about stalking! We are all, in some way or another, stalkers. We watch Big Brother, Jersey Shore, The Hills, Basketball wives, Bridezillas, Teen mom, Four weddings, My Super Sweet 16, The Only Way is Essex, Keeping up with the Kardashians, and the list goes on… all programs which follow the daily lives of other individuals. But why are we so interested in what others are doing?
Well, even though we put ‘celeb’ titles on just about anyone even if we know not what they do (cough cough Kim Kardashian), we love to relate to others. They are normal people too! It also fills a gap, a conversational topic at work or school maybe. It brings in work for Public Relation officers (PRs) and journalists. Ultimately however, it gives these reality stars an opportunity to keep themselves relevant. For some, it is a means of preying for the sake of shaping their own lives, it promotes a ‘copy-cat’ generation and some simply watch out of envy and to judge.
Lets add a bit more fuel to the fire. To ensure we never miss even a blink of an eye, we have even more ‘stalkerish’ tools to keep us up to date on the lives of others. There is Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, blogs, Tumblrs and celebrity catch up sites. Admit it, not only are we obsessed with the lives of celebrities, our new hobby is stalking just about anyone. Well, almost anyone.
Think about this though; we would not dare say “hi” to another commuter yet we are willing to display our every move even our private lives on the internet. What’s next? Maybe, news will become increasingly ‘dumbed-down’ material instead of covering serious and important issues. There will probably be an influx of reality movies in a documentary style and the stalker craze could eventually eradicate any unique character we once held dear.
However, our stalker generation has its place in society and although there are negatives there are also positives! It presents an opportunity to utilise the obtained information to their own detriment or benefit. So, what will you do with your findings?
Written by: Jan-Marie (@JammyDodgerZz)
