They Say: Celeb-Watching Boosts Self-Esteem

Madeline Holler — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:01:00 GMT

Does your daughter feel bad about herself? Take her to a Hannah Montana concert! Is your son not the confident boy he used to be? Make sure he has a subscription to People magazine! As for you? Don't listen to Adrienne -- keep following every move of your favorite celebrity mom and you're gonna love yourself in the morning, every morning.

Why? Because, they say, this is going to make you stronger.

A new study from SUNY-Buffalo shows that admiring celebrities can actually boost your low self-esteem, not drive it down. Who knew?

One hundred undergraduates in the study described their favorite celebrity in an open-ended essay. Self-evaluations in these essays were then assessed using a self-esteem scale. Apparently, the students' "relationships" with the celebrity provided some benefits that real relationships didn't.

From UPI:

These parasocial relationships, which have very low risk of rejection, offer low self-esteem people an opportunity to reduce their self-discrepancies and feel closer to their ideal selves, the researchers said.

Huh. So Angelina loves me? She really loves me? Suddenly, I feel fabulous!

Photo: lovebscott.com

Strollerderby : SUNY-Buffalo

They Say: Celeb-Watching Boosts Self-Esteem