'Who Did What?': Why Celebrity Gossip Is Our Favourite Escape

“What? I don't gossip. Maybe sometimes I find out things, or I hear something and pass that information on. You know, kind of like a public service." Most of us relate to Rachel Green's iconic line.

From the never-ending Shah Rukh-Salman rivalry to creating our own thesis about the Bachchan family drama, we get so engrossed and invested that we can lose hours simply reading a single online Reddit thread. And, of course, who can forget about the ‘national wedding’ of the Ambani family that streamed for months, which made all of us the digital ‘Bin Bulaye Barati’ and also Nick Jonas becoming the national “Jija ji."

In our chaotic, overly connected and accessible world, we often find solace in discussing the lives of others. Social media has essentially invited us all to a party where the main attractions are the latest celebrity dating rumours, red carpet fashion, and the star-studded scandals.

What Fuels this "Filmy" Interest?

In our fast-paced lives, where genuine connections can be rare, we often turn to celebrities as a substitute for real friends, creating a one-sided relationship,a parasocial relationship. This can sometimes fuel our own insecurities, leading us to judge people online for their appearance and everyday choices. The public spectacle of a B-Town breakup can become the "masala" that adds excitement to our routines, a kind of drama we might feel is missing from our own lives. 

"I believe that celebrity gossip becomes a convenient distraction from our own insecurities, giving us someone else to judge instead of reflecting on ourselves," shared Mallika Tandon, a working professional.

For a celebrity enthusiast, a quick scroll through social media is an invitation into the “IT world", and paparazzi are the directors. Their cameras serve as a lens, offering an unfiltered look at a celebrity's daily life, from the post-gym session to a late-night dinner, often giving us the exclusive peek we crave.

My grandmother, while going through the newspaper, loves getting an overview of the page that discusses celebrity lifestyles. It's like an ice-breaker in the meeting or party, where you can discuss further and make your own theory about the love triangle or connect the dots of a celebrity’s break-up from afar. People of all ages enjoy a little escape from reality, and following the life of their beloved celebrity feels like subscribing to a glamorous, dramatic and high-maintenance reality show, but for free. 

To get a real-world perspective, we asked a few youngsters in their 20s about their views on celebrity gossip. Here’s what they said:

“We’re often drawn to the lives of celebrities because they seem so much better than ours," expressed Suhasini Pathania, a student at Daulat Ram College, Delhi University. "They have more money, more freedom, and everything looks so polished and glamorous. Their lives feel like a constant adventure, while most of us are stuck in the same daily routine. Compared to our own, their lives look bigger, shinier, and full of possibilities, and that contrast is what keeps us hooked.” 

Swati Sreekumar, a third-year undergraduate student at Delhi University, stated, “The massive visibility & the apparent unattainability of celebrities is what fuels the desire to take a peek into their lives. In a way, gossip humanises the larger-than- life personas of the country’s stars. A view into their often very messy personal lives is simultaneously an affirmation of their shared humanity and a reminder that fame does not exempt one from flaws, vulnerabilities, or struggles."

Meanwhile, Manshi Roy, a final-year undergraduate student, said, "We are captivated by the world of celebrities because they inspire us. We look up to them as role models and draw inspiration from their achievements. By seeing their success, we also hope to achieve the same in our lives."

Shreeyam Pathak, a political science undergraduate student and a news enthusiast, thinks the reason we're so fascinated by celebrity gossip is because it's in our innate nature as social beings. "As their lives are much more accessible and very open, it gives us a chance to delve into such common topics and bond with others, and it also provides some sort of entertainment.”

Dwelling in the online “fairy tale” kind of world is a shared guilty pleasure. After all, it's always better to discuss who the next celebrity couple is than detangling our own lives and who doesn't love a little ‘tea’? 

Views expressed by the author are their own.