Did Social Media Diminish ‘Stardom?’ Exploring the Impact

In the not-so-distant past, celebrities were enigmatic figures shrouded in secret, their lives and personalities glimpsed only through carefully crafted television interviews and magazine spreads such as Ebony, Vogue, and even Word Up. Long gone are the days of in-stores, when fans would crowd busy record shops in hopes that the Destiny’s Childs, Ushers, and Aaliyahs of the world would autograph a poster or CD. With the rise of social media, these rare memorable interactions have been nearly eliminated as celebrities are more approachable, relatable, and intimately connected with their fans.

Platforms such as Twitter have been a sounding board for even some of the biggest acts, such as Rihanna, who was a known menace on the site in the earlier years of her career. Then, photo and video-sharing apps such as Instagram and TikTok have eliminated even more traditional barriers between celebrities and their fans, further removing the mystique. Now, fans can directly interact with their favorite superstars, especially those such as Cardi B, who regularly hosts Live Instagram sessions where she speaks to millions of supporters. While these interactions are undoubtedly delightful, social media has also exposed celebrities to unprecedented levels of scrutiny and harassment. Doja Cat recently quit Instagram over the frequent nasty comments that admittedly impacted her mental health. Several artists have spoken out about the over-saturated timelines and how they’ve ruined the musician-consumer relationship. During a 2020 interview with British GQ, Dr. Dre voiced his disdain for how social media ruined the allure of celebrities.

“I probably would’ve hated social media when I was coming up. There’s a certain mystique that gets destroyed. I like the mystique. I like waiting. I don’t need anybody to know where I am every minute or what I’m doing. Or what I’m about to do… There’s a certain mystique that came along with music that was entertaining to wait to see what was about to happen,” he explained.

Additionally, there has also been a significant change in the way music is consumed thanks to social media and streaming platforms. The rise of services such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal has transformed the music industry landscape, with significant implications for record sales. Physical CD sales were once the measure of success for most performers. The iconic Michael Jackson had one of the most significant first-week sales in history, selling over two million copies of his “Bad” album during pre-sale and shipping seven million during its first week when it was released on August 31st, 1987. These days, numbers such as these are nearly nonexistent. Working a record now involves much more digital marketing and landing a hit that can go viral.

With so many changes inflicted on the entertainment business thanks to social media, it poses the question of whether such digitally up-close encounters ruined the essence of the star as we came to know it.