Are you famous yet?

In an ordinary Australia house, on an ordinary day, you’re bound to find at least one person sitting on their computer. Sadly, in this day and age, they’re probably looking at YouTube, and even sadder, they’re probably watching clips like “Sitting on a toilet”. It makes you wonder, what on Earth is wrong with our society today?

A five second YouTube clip can make you a celebrity these days. And the worst thing is, it doesn’t even have to be a good five seconds. Seriously, a guy who rants about other video clips can be famous; a guy who danced in every place in the world can get an endorsement with MasterCard, and even a guy sitting under a blanket crying “LEAVE BRITTNEY ALONE” can become an overnight sensation. The question is, why? What are these idiots doing to deserve so much public admiration?

It used to be people became famous for their achievements not for their ability to upload clips of themselves in their daily life. Society is obsessed with celebrities and it seems everyone wants their “15 minutes of fame”. My argument isn’t that YouTube or fame is bad, but rather shouldn’t we idolise people who have done something significant? After all, everyone has sat on a toilet...big deal!

The media today shows more stories about celebrities and seems to focus less and less on important world events. Why are we hearing about Ben Cousins’ drug addiction instead of hearing about the deaths of innocent people in the war in Afghanistan? Why are we hearing about Paris Hilton’s latest trip to rehab instead of hearing about medical breakthroughs that doctors have been working years to achieve? Shouldn’t we be idolising people who are making a real difference in the world?

Even the latest Australian Federal Election turned into more of a celebrity popularity contest than an actual conversation about politics. Honestly, does anyone even know what Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott stood for? I seriously doubt it. But I bet everybody knows about Julia’s freakishly large earlobes and Tony’s obsession with budgie smugglers.

The truth of the matter is, it’s not your fault that you knew more about Julia’s earlobes and Tony’s swimsuit preference; it’s the media’s fault. General society will look up to the people the media focuses on most. If the media only shows us images of people who are famous because they’re famous, how can we possibly start looking up to who should be famous because of their achievements?

The media needs to change, instead of focusing on Ben Cousins’ drug addiction; we should be seeing interviews with doctors who have achieved the impossible. Instead of seeing the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, we should be seeing footage of the Australia of the Year Awards. Instead of watching young kids on YouTube doing stupid and irresponsible things, we should be seeing the Young Australians of the Year and learning about their achievements.

So next time you’re surfing YouTube, maybe take a look at the informative and scientific videos to enhance your knowledge? Or check out the instructional videos and learn to master a hobby?

Or even check out videos to help you with your school work? Of course, there’s nothing wrong with having a laugh at a lady sitting on a toilet, but just try to remember that there are great people in the world doing great things that are way more deserving of public attention than drug addled actors and idiots filming themselves in the bathroom.