{"id":1942911,"date":"2026-05-19T10:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T07:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1942911"},"modified":"2026-05-19T10:01:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T07:01:00","slug":"nobody-wants-to-be-famous-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1942911","title":{"rendered":"Nobody wants to be famous anymore"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1024\/0-36-1024-682\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/5\/1445053.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"main-article standard \">\n<div class=\"article-main-content article-wrapper has-media-but-its-an-image\" data-status=\"loaded\" data-primary-article=\"true\" data-url=\"\/life-culture\/article\/70250\/1\/nobody-wants-to-be-famous-anymore-gen-z-reality-tv-influencers\" data-article-id=\"70250\">\n<header class=\"article-header has-landscape-image no-media\">\n<div class=\"wrapper dg-max-width\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<figure class=\"main-img has-figcaption\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.29\" data-template=\"Standard Article\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"GettyImages-86192948\" class=\"img\" height=\"792\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1024\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/5\/1445053.jpg\" width=\"1024\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"inner\"><span class=\"credit\">Photo by Jean <span class=\"nowrap\">Baptiste Lacroix\/WireImage<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"meta\">\n<div class=\"inner\"><time datetime=\"2026-05-19T10:01:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"19 May 2026\"><span class=\"month\">May<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"19\">19,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"titles\">\n<div class=\"tags\">\n<div class=\"sections\"><a class=\"category vertical - life-culture\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\">Life &amp; Culture<\/a><br \/>\n\/<br \/>\n<a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/feature\">Feature<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"standard-tag-container\"><a class=\"standard-category\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\">Life &amp; Culture<\/a> \/<br \/>\n<a class=\"standard-series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/feature\">Feature<\/a><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"title\"><span>Nobody wants to be <span class=\"nowrap\">famous anymore<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"standfirst\">\n<h2>Millions of \u2018ordinary\u2019 people leapt at the chance to become an overnight star during the reality TV boom of the 2000s and 2010s. Today, just nine per cent of Gen Z want to be famous. <span class=\"nowrap\">What changed?<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-05-19T10:01:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"19 May 2026\"><span class=\"month\">May<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"19\">19,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-05-19T10:01:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"19 May 2026\"><span class=\"month\">May<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"19\">19,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/p>\n<div class=\"providers\">\n<div class=\"contributors\"><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/SerenaSmith\"><br \/>\nSerena Smith<br \/>\n<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article-body-container\">\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>A decade or two ago, it seemed like <\/span><em><span>everyone<\/span><\/em><span> wanted to be famous. The reality TV golden era of the 2000s saw the rise of shows like <\/span><em><span>Big Brother, Britain\u2019s Got Talent <\/span><\/em><span>and<\/span><em><span> The X Factor,<\/span><\/em><span> which offered an unprecedented platform for \u2018ordinary\u2019 people to take a shot at becoming a star overnight \u2013 and it was a shot many people took. One <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/birmingham\/content\/articles\/2005\/02\/26\/big_brother_auditions_feature.shtml\"><span>2005 BBC article<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0which interviewed hopefuls at a <\/span><em><span>Big Brother <\/span><\/em><span>audition in Birmingham, <\/span><span>where the queue to meet the show\u2019s casting team stretched \u201cround the block<\/span><span>\u201d, concluded that \u201c<\/span><span>the overwhelming reason people wanted to be on the show\u201d was the chance to become a celebrity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Today, however, young people seem more ambivalent about fame. Take the winners of <\/span><em><span>Love Island <\/span><\/em><span>season nine, Kai and Sanam Fagan (the couple married last year). Despite a successful run on the same show, which catalysed Molly-Mae Hague\u2019s career, both Kai and Sanam returned to their day jobs just months after returning home from the Mallorcan villa in 2023. \u201c<\/span><span>I didn\u2019t go on <\/span><em><span>Love Island<\/span><\/em><span> for fame,\u201d Sanam plainly <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ok.co.uk\/celebrity-news\/love-island-winners-kai-sanam-32460878\"><span>told <\/span><em><span>OK!<\/span><\/em><span> magazine in 2024<\/span><\/a><span>. \u201cI was a social worker beforehand and still am.\u201d More recently, 20-year-old American figure skater Alysa Liu told <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYPONLrmfg4\/\"><em><span>W Magazine<\/span><\/em><\/a><span> that she regarded her celebrity as nothing more than an unfortunate byproduct of her skating career: \u201c<\/span><span>I actually don\u2019t want to be famous. [But] unfortunately, the things I like to do are just going to make me famous.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The statistics tell a similar story. While <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/education\/education-news\/fame-the-career-choice-for-half-of-16yearolds-1902338.html\"><span>one 2010 survey<\/span><\/a><span> found that over half of 16-year-olds wanted to be famous in lieu of a career \u2013 with more than a fifth planning to achieve this by appearing on a reality TV show \u2013 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/lifestyle\/family-relationships\/article\/the-celebrity-gen-z-wants-to-emulate-the-most-its-not-taylor-swift-lebron-james-or-mrbeast-110000472.html\"><span>new YouGov research<\/span><\/a><span> published this month found that just nine per cent of Gen Z want to be famous, with a paltry <\/span><em><span>five<\/span><\/em><span> aspiring to become an influencer, and 79 per cent saying they would \u201cprefer a private life\u201d. But when did fame shift from aspirational to undesirable \u2013 and why?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<blockquote>\n<p><span>\u201cI wouldn\u2019t want to feel like my entire life is under a microscope\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Kim Allen, professor of sociology of youth and culture at the University of Leeds, stresses that the idea of young people being \u201cfame-hungry\u201d has always been overblown by the media. But she acknowledges that the advent of social media has likely made young people even <em>less<\/em> keen on the idea of being a celebrity than ever before. \u201cYoung people are well aware of the risks that come with social media visibility,\u201d she explains. \u201cThey are aware of how, in a surveillance society, their online presence can leave a digital footprint that can adversely impact their opportunities\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><span>I\u2019ve never aspired to be famous,\u201d says 27-year-old India. \u201cBeing famous seems like such an invasion of privacy. I wouldn\u2019t want to feel like my entire life is under a microscope for people to prod and pick at every little thing. Personally, I prefer privacy and peace over being seen or popular.\u201d Nilu feels <\/span><span>similarly. \u201cAbsolutely nothing about being famous \u2013 particularly in the age of smartphones and social media, and especially as a woman \u2013 seems remotely desirable to me,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t like people to know too much about my life, especially because the internet has made everyone insane and weird.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Allen adds that her recent research has shown \u201ca marked down-sizing of aspirations\u201d among young people today. While 20 years ago, reality TV winners could live like kings \u2013 by combining his winnings with the money he earned from media opportunities, Big Brother 2005 winner Anthony Hutton <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2024\/feb\/01\/i-can-pay-my-council-tax-the-ever-shrinking-world-of-tv-prize-money\"><span>\u201cwas able to buy a Range Rover, take a trip to Las Vegas and buy some property\u201d<\/span><\/a><span> \u2013 today, thanks to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, even tens of thousands of pounds doesn\u2019t stretch very far (the winner of the 2023 series of <em>Big Brother<\/em>, Jordan Sangha, quipped that he\u2019d be able to pay his council tax with the money). Essentially: what\u2019s the point of aspiring to be famous if you don\u2019t get to be <\/span><em><span>rich <\/span><\/em><span>too? \u201cThe social contract has been broken,\u201d Allen continues. \u201cYoung people are well aware that the meritocratic idea that if they work hard, they will achieve their dreams is a hoax.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-tiktok\" data-id=\"7404957266853645611\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Plus, Andy Warhol was right: reality TV set the stage for the advent of influencer culture in the late 2010s, and now we\u2019re in an era where everyone can be famous (even if for 15 minutes). As a result, fame no longer feels as exclusive or exciting as it once was. \u201cWe\u2019re in a culture where everyone is famous. You can post one viral video and everyone knows who you are,\u201d India says. The erosion of the boundary between \u2018normal person\u2019 and \u2018celebrity\u2019 has also meant that we now h<\/span><span>ave a far greater understanding of the nature of fame, with terms like \u2018parasocial relationship\u2019 entering common parlance. <\/span><span>\u201cIn the 2000s, fame felt rare \u2013 it was much easier to maintain the illusion of what having fame, fortune, and lifestyle really was,\u201d India continues. \u201cWith social media, the illusion started to crack. I think people see the ugly side now \u2013 the way celebrities are chewed up and spit out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It helps that a<\/span><span> number of public figures have been more open about the realities of life in the limelight: 28-year-old artist Chappell Roan has been particularly candid in a number of TikTok videos about her desire for privacy. While her detractors have derided her as \u201cungrateful\u201d for her success, it\u2019s not hard to see why Roan feels so strongly about maintaining boundaries between her personal and professional life: <\/span><span>as \u2018celebrity culture\u2019 snowballed in the 20th century in conjunction with the rise of mass media, some superfans went on to harass, stalk and murder their idols, from John Lennon, to Selena Quintanilla, to Christina Grimmie.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It\u2019s possible, of course, that this is just a cultural pendulum swing: maybe we just reached \u2018peak celebrity\u2019 in the 2010s (and subsequently \u2018peak influencer\u2019 in the early 2020s), and now we\u2019ve gone back to regarding those who openly court public attention as crass and distasteful (it\u2019s worth acknowledging that many establishment-adjacent commentators <\/span><em><span>always<\/span><\/em><span> sneered at working-class reality TV contestants who wanted some measure of wealth and status \u2013 see <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/meet\/\"><em><span>The Times<\/span><\/em><\/a><span> branding the likes of Jade Goody as \u2018SLEBs\u2019: \u201cShameless, Libidinous, Egoistic, Barefaced Slaves to celebrity\u201d). It\u2019s possible \u2013 even likely \u2013 that the pendulum will swing back again at some point, and we\u2019ll see the return of celebrities who embrace being \u201cfamous for being famous\u201d (of course, some, like the Kardashians, never left). But for now, for Gen Z, it\u2019s become abundantly clear that the old proverb was true all along: all that glitters is not gold.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. 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Culture<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"split-rail-card__title card-latest__title\">What went down at Dazed Club\u2019s drop-in skate session with Samsung<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"split-rail-card card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/70234\/1\/a-caged-dog-barks-the-fiercest-photography-mexico-city\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"split-rail-card__img-wrapper card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A Caged Dog Barks the Fiercest - Dazed - ROTC 19\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/640\/387-269-1285-856\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/4\/1444512.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"split-rail-card__content card-latest__content\"><span class=\"split-rail-card__ribbon card-latest__ribbon\">Art &amp; Photography<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"split-rail-card__title card-latest__title\">These portraits capture the artists and club kids of Mexico City<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"split-rail-card card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/70278\/1\/all-your-favourite-fashion-designers-are-visiting-this-subculture-archive\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"split-rail-card__img-wrapper card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"FKA Twigs wearing Rachel Auburn \" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/640\/0-252-1074-716\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/5\/1445364.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"split-rail-card__content card-latest__content\"><span class=\"split-rail-card__ribbon card-latest__ribbon\">Fashion<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"split-rail-card__title card-latest__title\">This subculture archive is fashion\u2019s best kept secret<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline\" data-newsletter hidden>\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>A decade or two ago, it seemed like <\/span><em><span>everyone<\/span><\/em><span> wanted to be famous. The reality TV golden era of the 2000s saw the rise of shows like <\/span><em><span>Big Brother, Britain\u2019s Got Talent <\/span><\/em><span>and<\/span><em><span> The X Factor,<\/span><\/em><span> which offered an unprecedented platform for \u2018ordinary\u2019 people to take a shot at becoming a star overnight \u2013 and it was a shot many people took. One <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/birmingham\/content\/articles\/2005\/02\/26\/big_brother_auditions_feature.shtml\"><span>2005 BBC article<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0which interviewed hopefuls at a <\/span><em><span>Big Brother <\/span><\/em><span>audition in Birmingham, <\/span><span>where the queue to meet the show\u2019s casting team stretched \u201cround the block<\/span><span>\u201d, concluded that \u201c<\/span><span>the overwhelming reason people wanted to be on the show\u201d was the chance to become a celebrity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Today, however, young people seem more ambivalent about fame. Take the winners of <\/span><em><span>Love Island <\/span><\/em><span>season nine, Kai and Sanam Fagan (the couple married last year). Despite a successful run on the same show, which catalysed Molly-Mae Hague\u2019s career, both Kai and Sanam returned to their day jobs just months after returning home from the Mallorcan villa in 2023. \u201c<\/span><span>I didn\u2019t go on <\/span><em><span>Love Island<\/span><\/em><span> for fame,\u201d Sanam plainly <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ok.co.uk\/celebrity-news\/love-island-winners-kai-sanam-32460878\"><span>told <\/span><em><span>OK!<\/span><\/em><span> magazine in 2024<\/span><\/a><span>. \u201cI was a social worker beforehand and still am.\u201d More recently, 20-year-old American figure skater Alysa Liu told <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYPONLrmfg4\/\"><em><span>W Magazine<\/span><\/em><\/a><span> that she regarded her celebrity as nothing more than an unfortunate byproduct of her skating career: \u201c<\/span><span>I actually don\u2019t want to be famous. [But] unfortunately, the things I like to do are just going to make me famous.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The statistics tell a similar story. While <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/education\/education-news\/fame-the-career-choice-for-half-of-16yearolds-1902338.html\"><span>one 2010 survey<\/span><\/a><span> found that over half of 16-year-olds wanted to be famous in lieu of a career \u2013 with more than a fifth planning to achieve this by appearing on a reality TV show \u2013 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/lifestyle\/family-relationships\/article\/the-celebrity-gen-z-wants-to-emulate-the-most-its-not-taylor-swift-lebron-james-or-mrbeast-110000472.html\"><span>new YouGov research<\/span><\/a><span> published this month found that just nine per cent of Gen Z want to be famous, with a paltry <\/span><em><span>five<\/span><\/em><span> aspiring to become an influencer, and 79 per cent saying they would \u201cprefer a private life\u201d. But when did fame shift from aspirational to undesirable \u2013 and why?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<blockquote>\n<p><span>\u201cI wouldn\u2019t want to feel like my entire life is under a microscope\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Kim Allen, professor of sociology of youth and culture at the University of Leeds, stresses that the idea of young people being \u201cfame-hungry\u201d has always been overblown by the media. But she acknowledges that the advent of social media has likely made young people even <em>less<\/em> keen on the idea of being a celebrity than ever before. \u201cYoung people are well aware of the risks that come with social media visibility,\u201d she explains. \u201cThey are aware of how, in a surveillance society, their online presence can leave a digital footprint that can adversely impact their opportunities\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><span>I\u2019ve never aspired to be famous,\u201d says 27-year-old India. \u201cBeing famous seems like such an invasion of privacy. I wouldn\u2019t want to feel like my entire life is under a microscope for people to prod and pick at every little thing. Personally, I prefer privacy and peace over being seen or popular.\u201d Nilu feels <\/span><span>similarly. \u201cAbsolutely nothing about being famous \u2013 particularly in the age of smartphones and social media, and especially as a woman \u2013 seems remotely desirable to me,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t like people to know too much about my life, especially because the internet has made everyone insane and weird.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Allen adds that her recent research has shown \u201ca marked down-sizing of aspirations\u201d among young people today. While 20 years ago, reality TV winners could live like kings \u2013 by combining his winnings with the money he earned from media opportunities, Big Brother 2005 winner Anthony Hutton <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2024\/feb\/01\/i-can-pay-my-council-tax-the-ever-shrinking-world-of-tv-prize-money\"><span>\u201cwas able to buy a Range Rover, take a trip to Las Vegas and buy some property\u201d<\/span><\/a><span> \u2013 today, thanks to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, even tens of thousands of pounds doesn\u2019t stretch very far (the winner of the 2023 series of <em>Big Brother<\/em>, Jordan Sangha, quipped that he\u2019d be able to pay his council tax with the money). Essentially: what\u2019s the point of aspiring to be famous if you don\u2019t get to be <\/span><em><span>rich <\/span><\/em><span>too? \u201cThe social contract has been broken,\u201d Allen continues. \u201cYoung people are well aware that the meritocratic idea that if they work hard, they will achieve their dreams is a hoax.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-tiktok\" data-id=\"7404957266853645611\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Plus, Andy Warhol was right: reality TV set the stage for the advent of influencer culture in the late 2010s, and now we\u2019re in an era where everyone can be famous (even if for 15 minutes). As a result, fame no longer feels as exclusive or exciting as it once was. \u201cWe\u2019re in a culture where everyone is famous. You can post one viral video and everyone knows who you are,\u201d India says. The erosion of the boundary between \u2018normal person\u2019 and \u2018celebrity\u2019 has also meant that we now h<\/span><span>ave a far greater understanding of the nature of fame, with terms like \u2018parasocial relationship\u2019 entering common parlance. <\/span><span>\u201cIn the 2000s, fame felt rare \u2013 it was much easier to maintain the illusion of what having fame, fortune, and lifestyle really was,\u201d India continues. \u201cWith social media, the illusion started to crack. I think people see the ugly side now \u2013 the way celebrities are chewed up and spit out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It helps that a<\/span><span> number of public figures have been more open about the realities of life in the limelight: 28-year-old artist Chappell Roan has been particularly candid in a number of TikTok videos about her desire for privacy. While her detractors have derided her as \u201cungrateful\u201d for her success, it\u2019s not hard to see why Roan feels so strongly about maintaining boundaries between her personal and professional life: <\/span><span>as \u2018celebrity culture\u2019 snowballed in the 20th century in conjunction with the rise of mass media, some superfans went on to harass, stalk and murder their idols, from John Lennon, to Selena Quintanilla, to Christina Grimmie.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It\u2019s possible, of course, that this is just a cultural pendulum swing: maybe we just reached \u2018peak celebrity\u2019 in the 2010s (and subsequently \u2018peak influencer\u2019 in the early 2020s), and now we\u2019ve gone back to regarding those who openly court public attention as crass and distasteful (it\u2019s worth acknowledging that many establishment-adjacent commentators <\/span><em><span>always<\/span><\/em><span> sneered at working-class reality TV contestants who wanted some measure of wealth and status \u2013 see <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/meet\/\"><em><span>The Times<\/span><\/em><\/a><span> branding the likes of Jade Goody as \u2018SLEBs\u2019: \u201cShameless, Libidinous, Egoistic, Barefaced Slaves to celebrity\u201d). It\u2019s possible \u2013 even likely \u2013 that the pendulum will swing back again at some point, and we\u2019ll see the return of celebrities who embrace being \u201cfamous for being famous\u201d (of course, some, like the Kardashians, never left). But for now, for Gen Z, it\u2019s become abundantly clear that the old proverb was true all along: all that glitters is not gold.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\/article\/70250\/1\/nobody-wants-to-be-famous-anymore-gen-z-reality-tv-influencers&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1024\/0-36-1024-682\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/5\/1445053.jpg&#8221;] Photo by Jean Baptiste Lacroix\/WireImage May\u00a0 19,\u00a0 2026 Life &amp; Culture \/ Feature Life &amp; Culture \/ Feature Nobody wants to be famous anymore Millions of \u2018ordinary\u2019 people leapt at the chance to become an overnight star during the reality TV boom of the 2000s and 2010s. Today, just nine per cent [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,76],"class_list":["post-1942911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1942911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1942911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1942911\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1942911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1942911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1942911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}