Tighter lockdown on celebrity drivel needed.

 I choose not to be on Facebook or Instagram, but I am nevertheless inundated on my phone, computer, and TV with images and videos posted by celebrities or people who think they are celebrities.  In this Coronavirus era we are all looking for good news and support wherever we can find it on social media, but the efforts of some celebrities’ to inform and entertain us are certainly wasted on me.

It irritates me when celebrities give me scientific advice, based on a clear misunderstanding or generalisation of the facts.  Some feel they have to remind us to stay indoors and some feel they are so special they can swan off to their second homes in Cornwall or wherever.   

I heard about fantasy author Neil Gaiman, who flew 11,000 miles from New Zealand to London, via Los Angeles, then borrowed a friend’s car and drove 500 miles north to the Hebrides. And guess why.... to “give his wife (musician Amanda Palmer) some space”.

I see models and film stars posing in face masks, or just posing (e.g. Madonna bathing in a rose petal-strewn bath). A controversial American YouTuber Logan Paul shared a photo of himself surrounded by a throng of models wearing gas masks alongside the caption: “F**k the corona virus.” So cool, not!

 I see videos of celebrities looking smug in their huge gardens or singing very badly.  I was unfortunate to come across Gal Gadot’s famous crowd-sourced famous person cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine”.  She and most of the celebrities on it cannot sing and I can’t for the life of me see what its purpose is.  Perhaps they think their star power alone can overcome the virus.

I read that Instagram celebrities and users are using the hashtag #coronavirus to increase likes and followers on posts with little or no relation to the outbreak. How insensitive and desperate!

In social media terms it is said that a picture or vlog is worth a thousand words.  From what I’ve seen most posted pictures and videos say very few words. They say ‘Look at me’, ‘Do I look good?’, ‘Aren’t I clever’, ‘Aren’t I a hoot’, ‘Can I influence you, because I get paid for it?’   

I understand it’s a hard time for celebrities too and that they need to keep up their profile.  And I respect their right to have an opinion on things.  But sometimes we don’t need celebrities to tell us the bleedin’ obvious, and to show such empty headed arrogance.  If they are going to force-feed us their posts, pictures and videos, they should get a second opinion on whether their contributions are not just appropriate but truly entertaining and that there is just a chance it will distract us from the spectre of death and economic ruin.

Am I having a bad day?  Possibly!