We Have An Unhealthy Fixation On The Private Lives Of Celebrities, Why?

Social media allows all of us to give a glimpse of our lives. Social media is one of the most-used mediums for celebrities to connect with us. It has given fans access to their private lives. However, the fuzzy boundaries have triggered a train of thought which is voyeuristic and fuels the unhealthy fixation people have with celebrities and their lives. Yet another speculation over Amitabh Bachchan's granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda dating Siddhant Chaturvedi of Gully Boy fame is making rounds on the internet. All of this is because of a small exchange in the comments section of their social media post.

What does this interaction even indicate? Don't celebrities have the freedom to be cordial with each other without hitting the headlines? Isn't this problematic?

Navya Siddhant Dating Rumours

Siddhant Chaturvedi who has been in the news because of his recent release Gehraaiyian is trending again. The actor took to his social media, posting a picture of his recent travels, on which entrepreneur Navya Naveli Nanda, left a comment. This interaction between the two has led the internet to speculate that the two of them are in a relationship. Baseless rumour or not, why are we so invested in the private lives of celebrities? Where is the fine line between curiosity and voyeurism? Are celebrities not entitled to personal space?

An Unhealthy Fixation On The Private Lives Of Celebrities

In this era of social media, where everyone's life is so out in the open and digitalized, where privacy is a privilege, celebrity lives are as good as hijacked.  The public interference in their lives off-late has celebrities taking extreme measures, to keep their private lives to themselves. From no phones policies to have their guests sign NDA forms, to covering their newborns' faces every time they are out in public, celebrities are doing it all to maintain a little bit of their privacy, and rightly so. What does this say about us as a society?

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We need to question ourselves. Isn't it an unhealthy fixation on the private lives of celebrities? Isn't it taking us away from our realities?

From hounding celebrities outside restaurants, gyms and airports for pictures to blowing their small social media interaction out of proportion: we indulge in it all. Their newborn babies also become celebrities overnight for our obsession with celebrities knows no bounds.

Navya Naveli Nanda was earlier linked to Meezan Jaffri, actor, son of Jaaved Jaffery over a couple of outings and Instagram pictures, which was then shut down by the latter himself. Netizens are quick to assume and cook up baseless stories, forgetting the detrimental effects it can cause on celebrities.

Celebrities are not even viewed as humans at times as everyone including the media only sees them as an object to get their next story or to derive entertainment. Everyone is now onto linking Navya with Siddhant over an exchange of comments. These reports have stemmed from nothing but the small interaction. What makes us be so fixated on celebrities and their love lives? What fun is it to be in a gossip-mongering society? Is gossiping the only source of entertainment?

Celebrities too have a right to live their lives on their terms, without the public commenting on their every move like it's their right to do so. Just because they are public figures, because of their profession, does not give us permission to view everything about them with a microscopic eye. You cannot demand an explanation for what they decide to do in their personal lives and make molehills out of every small interaction. It is then that the line crosses over from being curious to becoming an unhealthy obsession, taking us away from leading our own lives.

The views expressed are the author's own