The instant gratification of celebrity gossip blogs

By Nicole Harris

Cocaine, sex tapes, DUIs, public mental breakdowns. The new phenomena of celebrity gossip blogs are broadcasting the scandalous escapades of the country's most rich and famous, and not only are students reading, but they're addicted.

This addiction lies in the writing of blogger-turned-celebrity Perez Hilton, who, according to Entertainment Weekly, attracts somewhere between 2 to 4.5 million viewers to his site daily. TheSuperficial.com and TMZ.com are among the hordes of other aspiring celebrity gossip blogs.

"I probably check The Superficial at least two times a day and Perez three times," said junior Megan Incorvaia. "I like The Superficial better, but Perez updates more often."

Incorvaia is not the only person who has celebrity gossip blogs central to their daily routine.

"I wake up and check it after e-mail and stuff, and then when I get home from classes or before I go to bed," said junior Kelsey Curry, a regular visitor to Hilton's Web site.

It is the quirky and sarcastic commentary that makes blogs like Hilton's so entertaining for students like Curry and Incorvaia to read.

"I like The Superficial because it's really funny, sarcastic and critical. No one is spared on it," said Incorvaia. "It's not so much about presenting the facts, just making fun of them -- more for a laugh."

But the question remains: Between homework, work and looming exams, why are these celebrity gossip sites so popular?

Junior Erin Boten, who checks PerezHilton.com daily, said celebrity news makes the celebrities seem more real. "No one can really relate to the stardom or exposure of celebrities, but you can relate on a more personal level to a breakup or something like that."

Curry, on the other hand, attributes the large readership to another reason: boredom.

"I think people are so obsessed with it because there's nothing else to do â?¦ It's kind of sad, we need to find other sources of entertainment."

With the increasing popularity of these blogs, one has to wonder the impact that they're having on society, and why we are in fact so enamored with celebrity culture.

These blogs aren't just reporting on news stories surrounding celebrities, but covering every move they make. Britney Spears bought a soda? Go to PerezHilton.com to see a picture. Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal seen kissing on a beach? Go to TheSuperficial.com to read all about it, including scandalous pictures and sarcastic commentary.

Communication professor Michael Whalen thinks that it's not necessarily the interest in celebrities that has increased, but the explosion of the new medium in which to track famous people's lives.

"What's made it different now is the frenzied nature of it," said Whalen. "It's frenzied for Perez and TMZ to stand out in the cloud of other celebrity Web sites and blogs to get people to come to their sites first."

It is the instantaneous nature of celebrity blogs that truly make it the gossip method of choice.

"I like reading magazines, but getting news online is definitely more current, rather than having to wait a week for the new magazines to come out," said Boten.

A friend who had read the news of Heath Ledger's death on PerezHilton.com informed Incorvaia by a text message only minutes after the actor's body was found.

"I see blogs and Web sites replacing lifestyle sections of newspapers," said Whalen. "News cannot survive on the immediacy element that blogs can. It's where entertainment news will go."

Along with the instant gratification of seeing your favorite celebrity hitting the clubs or getting caught doing something illegal comes the question of legitimacy. Unlike newspapers, in which everything is fact-checked, anyone who has access to a computer can post something on a blog.

"The role of blogs are becoming dangerous," said Whalen. He said that many people are not educated enough to know when to believe something they read and when to take it as pure entertainment.

While Boten is an avid fan of gossip blogs, she does acknowledge that in some cases, the information might not be very reliable.

"There is a lot more room to add creative and opinionated aspects to a blog," said Boten.

But the possibly unreliable information doesn't appear to be causing a rift in readership.

"I don't necessarily believe everything, but I don't necessarily not believe it either," said Curry.

Whether every post is legitimate or not, readers keep on logging in for their latest dose.

"Regardless, it's a cultural phenomenon," said Incorvaia. "As long as it stays funny, I'll keep on reading."

Contact Nicole Harris at (408) 551-1918 or nharris@scu.edu.