Does being in the public eye mean that you have less privacy?
Social media is designed to enable people all over the world to make connections with other individuals. Whether or not we wish to share certain aspects of our lives, good or bad, is a decision that most users are able to make on an everyday basis. However, when you are in the public eye, some people feel that the concept of privacy should be taken away. Is this really how it should be?
I don’t think so. This issue has been taking up residence in my thoughts ever since Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan announced their divorce back in early April of this year. What happens between two individuals should not be the business of anyone else, especially not the downfall of a marriage and what went wrong.
Ever since then, couples who are in the public eye such as YouTube couples David Dobrik and Liza Koshy or Lauren Riihimaki and Alexander Burriss have made videos announcing their breakups that they posted to YouTube. These just don’t sit well with me.
A relationship, in my personal opinion, should remain between the two individuals involved and not involve the spectators of said relationship.
Some may say they do this for views and while that may be partially true, I also sense that these online celebrities feel some type of responsibility to do so, as if they owe it to their viewers to explain why they no longer work as a couple. I don’t know about anyone else, but I sure didn’t want to go broadcasting my breakup last year to the entire Monmouth University campus. Why should they?
The same goes for happier moments like pregnancies. I know a lot of people were bothered by the Kylie Jenner pregnancy and the secrets she kept for those few months, but I also agree with the reasoning behind the radio silence. She made it a point to give a valid reason as to why she kept things private, writing in her Instagram post on Feb. 4 of this year, “I knew for myself I needed to prepare for this role of a lifetime in the most positive, stress free and healthy way I knew how.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
So why is it that people expect to have knowledge of every intimate moment of celebrities’ lives? I can’t stand when people use the reasoning that these celebrities signed up for the lack of privacy. At the end of the day, no one wants to have their entire life on display for the entire world to judge. Let me paint a picture for those of you who feel they do.
You chose to attend school here at Monmouth, knowing very well the burden of student debt that would come with it. People don’t feel too much sympathy because you knew about the debt and still took the opportunity for reward despite the risk. In the case of celebrities, they just wanted to pursue a dream that came with a few risks alongside the rewards. Sound familiar?
At the end of the day, all celebrities are human beings, no matter how perfect you think they are. We all fear judgment and ridicule from those around us and sometimes we just want to keep our happy little victories to ourselves. Keep that in mind next time you question someone’s right to privacy.
IMAGE TAKEN from CNN Entertainment
