Title: How Do Celebrities Influence People? | Our Pastimes
Headings: How Do Celebrities Influence People?
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How Do Celebrities Influence People?
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Content: Body Image
The entertainment industry often pressures celebrities--especially actresses--to look thin. Since some people look to celebrities as role models, this can have a severe impact on societal perceptions of body image. Some celebrities maintain their body images through extreme measures, including plastic surgery and eating disorders. Though celebrities do not directly cause people to seek out these extreme measures, the National Eating Disorder Association says that the media impacts the ways people define ideas of body image. Politics
Through the media, celebrities have the ability to affect people's interests in political parties or politicians. One of the most recent, high-profiled celebrity endorsements was Oprah Winfrey's endorsement of Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election. Though it's unclear exactly how influential Winfrey's endorsement was on the race, a USA Today poll showed that 8 percent of the adults who participated in the poll were more likely to vote for Obama because of Winfrey's backing. Environmentalism
Many environmentally conscience topics, such as global warming, have received publicity because of celebrities. Al Gore, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks are strong believers in living a "green" lifestyle. These celebrities have often vocalized support for "going green," and have endorsed hybrid cars, such as the Toyota Prius.