Are you interested in the comings and goings of the celebrity set? If so, you may want to put down your mobile and go touch grass. Researchers have found a direct connection between mental health and the worshipping of celebrities, as in people not doing so well will tend to follow celebrity news more closely than others. The solution to this is to reduce your use of social media and reflect on what is really bothering you. Does this mean that anybody interested in celebrities is not doing well? Of course not, just if you find yourself preoccupied with the onslaught of information from celebrities you may want to take a break.
The Absorption-addiction model suggests that people worship celebrities to compensate for some personal or social defects, so poor mental state is related to celebrity worship. The current study aimed to explore the underlying mechanisms influencing celebrity worship. A total of 1,147 participants (aged 19–26 years) completed online questionnaires to assess social anxiety, mobile phone dependence, parental income and celebrity worship. Results showed that: (1) social anxiety, socioeconomic status (SES) and celebrity worship were positively correlated; (2) Social anxiety affected celebrity worship through mobile phone dependence; (3) SES played a moderating role in the mediation model. At higher levels of SES, individuals with high social anxiety showed reduced dependence on mobile phones. These findings highlight the importance of mobile phone dependence and family SES in celebrity worship. Additionally, the findings demonstrated that females are more likely to pay attention to celebrities, but the greater SES and reduced mobile phone dependence can mitigate their celebrity addiction.