Wanted: Celebrities… no talent, looks, or brains needed

Being famous or a celebrity is something that every one has thought of once of twice in their lives.

But just how easy is it to become famous?

The web for one, has completely changed the ability to become famous. In the pre-internet era, becoming famous was just as rare as winning the lottery. Not only did you usually have to know somebody in the industry, you had to have exceptional amounts of talent or brains. There were high barriers to entry meaning that not everyone had a good shot and that it was quite difficult to rise to fame.

But because of the web, it is now easier than ever to become famous.

No prior experience needed. The entry age to become famous is get younger and younger. The article from The New York Times, “No Stardom Until after Homework” talks about average teenagers who have traded in the Barbie doll for a couple million. And what is it that allows for this easy access to fame?

The Internet and Social media really allows for fame to take place and allows for content to go viral. Cinkle, 14 ,talks about how she became famous almost over night for being that girl in the car of the “Friday” music video by Rebecca Black. She tells us how she used social media to create fan pages for herself and tend to her up and coming fame where she would spend hours answering questions to her fans. The article states that “Youtube” is where most pre teens and teens go to to start their shot at fame.

Teenagers upload videos on “how to do” several things including applying make up as well as shop for outfits which can sometimes get thousands of views. The article states that this has happened for many normal high schoolers who eventually drop out to manage their “new found fame”, with a lot of extra easy earned cash.

“In less then a month, Cinkle had gone from anonymous high school student to micro-celebrity”

-The New York Times

YouTube is online website that is the most popular when it comes to getting famous.

Gone are the days where you have to audition across the country in the hopes of landing an unpaid gig that might lead to your “discovery”. All it takes now is a camera, a room, and well.. your-self.

An article in the Business Insider ranked “YouTube stars” on the amount of money they make depending on which ads advertisers can work with. Although YouTube takes 45 percent of the profit, YouTube can turn anyone with a witty personality or make up tutorial skills for that matter, into a millionaire. The article begins with number 20 on the list of people who are earning as much as doctors, lawyers and celebrities just by creating home made videos. $134,000-$1.32 million estimated yearly income after YouTube’s 45% cut.

476,000 total subscribers.

443 million total views .

This isn’t the profile of one of Hollywood’s actors or the CEO of Google, this is just a young boy and his camera.

Evan is the 7-year-old face of EvanTubeHD,a family-friendly YouTube channel where Evan (and occasionally his sister or mom) reviews toys and video games.

The number one YouTube celebrity on the list is PewDiePie who makes over 7.4 million dollars a year.

But what exactly does he do might you ask? Well he didn’t find a cure for AIDS or cancer, that’s for sure. According to the article ,“ YouTube star PewDiePie responds to haters over 7.4 million annual earnings” in The Guardian, good old PewDiePie has to defend how much he earns from haters who accuse him of sitting down on his bum all day, which in reality is what he does.

The article states that PewDiePie began his hit videos just by reporting on video games, something that hadn’t been done before. This concept led him to become YouTube’s most watched “celebrity” in 2014.

The internet has democratized fame seeing that now anyone , everywhere with a broadband connection and a recording device has the potential to rise to fame.

Social media allows for fame to take place and allows for content to go viral. In reality, all you need is a smart phone and social media accounts to either create a Facebook, YouTube, twitter or Instagram page. The possibilities for becoming famous are available to anyone with little or no money, talent or time.

In the start of Hollywood, being a celebrity was not easy. The great actors like Audrey Hepburn or Clark gable were celebrities because of their unparalleled talent and look on stage. But now, people can become famous for all the wrong reasons thanks to the internet.

Let’s take Rebecca black or Kylie Jenner, who is part of the already famous Jenner/Kardashian gang.  Unlike Kourtney or Kim or Khloé, Kylie was born and raised in the online era. She’s a social media native. And she has lots of fans—many who are digital natives, too.

Kylie uses social media such as Snapchat, instagram and twitter as a base to upload videos, and her day- to-day happenings which help make her become even more famous. In the case of Rebecca black, a girl with little to no talent or looks to be quite honest, was turned into a over night star and as her video was shared, re tweeted and received millions of views. Whether viewers liked her video or not, the fact that it was shared so often made it go viral and ultimately gave her a rise to fame.

Uploading pictures can also lead to fame with the app called Instagram. Nowadays anyone can become Instafamous. It begins with uploading single images and then getting more and more followers until you ultimately get sponsored by a brand.

“Social Media is centered around the discourse of becoming a star”

-The New York Times

But why exactly does the Internet allow for people to become famous? Even when they have no talent? Is it just because the Internet provides a certain platform?

The key part of modern day fame lies in VIRALITY. Once uploaded, a video can be passed on and watched millions of times all over the world. Pictures get shared, tweets get re-tweeted, videos receive likes and views. Many C-listers ( aspiring actors) or even girls who work at Hooters, know that the internet leads to fame which is why many Sex tapes get “accidentally” leaked, thus getting the chance to go spread.

All it takes is for it to go viral and there we have it!… a new celebrity.. voila!

I also think that the Internet has trivialized fame and made it less complex then it really is. In the post internet era, society used to admire famous people and celebrities hoping to one day maybe get a glimpse into their lives. Now, with the Internet, being famous isn’t seen as being that glamorous or as “special”. I for one, think that due to the fact that we can see the way celebrities live and act on a daily basis, we become accustomed to it. Since, we see so many different people become famous and the circle of celebrity keeps on shifting, we think of fame as something easy to come by and quite undervalued. In fact, I think to myself that maybe if I started a blog, and uploaded some revealing photos on Instagram I might too have an easy shot at fame.

The concept of fame isn’t what it used to be.