Just by getting online and making a search we can learn a lot about any famous person we admire or hate. Their best shots, their last interview or the last debate they participated in. And of course, their last boyfriend, their last vacation…
A lot of this information is not just provided by the paparazzi anymore, we are finding it in the social network profiles these celebrities are using. So, what about these famous people that are showing us something more than their professional achievements? Are they giving away their private lives information for free for nothing? Or are they getting something in return?
The two biggest social networks used by the people from the tabloids are right now Facebook and Twitter. We can find from talk show personalities to singers, actors and athletes. Who are using the networks to promote their campaigns but also let the world know other sides of them before even the magazines can. Beware Perez Hilton, it´s going to be harder and harder for you to find the news first!
The truth is that social media has given these people a new power. Tired of being followed by paparazzi who don´t always tell the truth or information from the perspective that this people want, or show only the parts they think will sell, celebrities have found a way to communicate what they want. Thanks to Social Media networks they can show the real person without any Photoshop and without any censoring or cuts. They can be true and honest and show the sides of their lives that they also want to show without anyone silencing their words. Social networks have allowed these people to get down from a photoshoped and untouchable pedestal and become human.
They say that humanizing means “to make human, familiar, person and close” and this is exactly what is happening. An example is Ashton Kutcher who is not anymore just a cute boy who did a couple funny movies and a TV show on MTV. We can see now that he is actually funny but also intelligent, edgy, down to earth (aside from being considered practically a Social media guru). There´s a reason why he is one of the most followed stars on the internet networks, he humanized himself through them and thanks to it regained popularity.
Social networks are creating a very big impact in today´s society and our famous personalities know it very well. They´re completely aware that this is the modern way of “publicity” and the path to controlling their own image the way they want.
