Famous People and Private Life - Essay Example

“Although media is important in our society, it can affect people's behavior in negatively partly because there are too many exposures” (Media’s Effect on Behavior, n. d). Journalists always search for sensational news in order to raise the ratings of the media in which they are working. Famous people are always being the targets of journalists since any news about celebrities may read or watched by ordinary people with more interest. Famous people such as politicians, film stars, and sports personalities many times complained about their inability to lead a private life because of the intrusions of journalists in their private life. This paper argues that famous people deserve to have a private life without journalists following them at all times.

Famous people and private life

One of the prominent figures of the twentieth century, Princess Diana, wife of Prince Charles, died in a car accident in 1997 when the paparazzi or yellow newspaper journalists followed her to knowing more about her private life. “Later tests showed the driver had been well over the legal alcohol limit, but immediate blame was on the photographers and their seemingly incessant quest to capture images of Diana that could be sold to the press”(Lewis, 2011). In other words, Princess Diana suffered death because of the over ambitions of the paparazzi to make more money by selling hot news about the private life of Diana. Diana and her newly found friend Dodi were inside the car and the photographers followed or chased Diana’s car in an attempt to take hot pictures which resulted in the car accident.

The above incident clearly shows that there are instances in which famous people are forced to face death because of the unethical behaviors of the journalists. Nobody likes to reveal anything about their private life. Famous people spend most of their time in the limelight of the media. It is a fact that most of the people like media attraction. However, nobody wants to spend 24 hours in front of the media. Famous people deserve to take a rest at some point in time and the media should never try to block it.

People like fame for getting money and boosting their public image. Journalists are playing a vital role in increasing the images of celebrities. For example, Madonna or Britney Spears might not become famous without contributions from the media or journalists. However, the same media have created a lot of disturbances for these celebrities, when their private lives were exposed. In other words, media can make or break celebrities or famous people. Former American President Bill Clinton suffered impeachment because of the colorful stories spread by the media about Clinton’s affairs with Monica Lewinsky.

It is quite possible that the media can exaggerate or manipulate news about famous people with the help of new technologies. For example, it is possible for the media to publish naked pictures of famous people with the help of morphing technology. The only thing they need for this purpose is a suitable photograph of the celebrity. It is difficult for celebrities to keep a watchful eye on the media every time they do something. The attempt by celebrities to prevent the media from exposing their private life may create “various psychological conditions, such as anxiety disorders, as well as chronic stress, the symptoms of which include eating disorders, body aches, insomnia, anxiety, anger, and depression, etc” (Glassvisage, 2011).To conclude, famous people deserve to lead a normal life and the media should stay away from the private lives of famous people.