Leonardo DiCaprio, Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, they are just a small percentage of celebrities people find particularly attractive and therefore hold an emotional attachment to, ultimately creating a celebrity crush. You probably have a celebrity crush yourself. However, some people argue that it is not healthy for an individual to crave an unrealistic relationship with a celebrity.
Celebrities are consistently put on a pedestal in the media, because they are glorified to appear perfect in the way they look and how they behave. The content published of them is heavily edited before being released, in addition celebrities undergo hours of getting their hair and makeup done to reinforce their charisma and beauty. Naturally, audiences are going to be more attracted to this. Humans, at their core, desire a relationship with expectations that rationally will not be met, therefore when an ideal figure is showcased to them across all social media platforms, it is very normal and healthy for an attraction to develop. Additionally, with an increase of fan bases for celebrities, individuals can search for videos that deliberately highlight a celebrity's best moments, which will only fuel a crush further.
Many people utilise a celebrity crush as a source of fantasy; they are an escape from the real world as they know there is no chance of ever developing a relationship with the celebrity. However, an issue occurs when an individual either refuses to acknowledge this or genuinely believes their dreams will become a reality. An individual’s love for a celebrity can easily consume them, causing what once was an innocent crush to develop into an unhealthy, toxic obsession. Intense fans of a famous personality often unknowingly create a parasocial relationship with a celebrity. This is when an individual invests so much emotional energy towards someone completely unaware of their existence. Celebrities may enforce this by telling their fans they love them and delivering personal messages to their audience, when in reality they are generalising their fan base and there is really nothing personal about it at all. Situations like this can endanger both the celebrity and the supporter, as it can lead to cases of stalking and harassment whilst destroying the fans mental health, as the reality they so deeply desire will never become true.
Ultimately, it’s healthy to have a celebrity crush, like it’s healthy to have a crush on a regular person you know. However, it’s important to recognise the limit and understand celebrities have personal boundaries too, and it is not okay to have revolved your entire world around someone who doesn’t even know you exist.