<\/p>\n
A decade or two ago, it seemed like <\/span>everyone<\/span> wanted to be famous. The reality TV golden era of the 2000s saw the rise of shows like <\/span>Big Brother, Britain\u2019s Got Talent <\/span>and<\/span> The X Factor,<\/span> which offered an unprecedented platform for \u2018ordinary\u2019 people to take a shot at becoming a star overnight \u2013 and it was a shot many people took. One <\/span>2005 BBC article<\/span><\/a>\u00a0which interviewed hopefuls at a <\/span>Big Brother <\/span>audition in Birmingham, <\/span>where the queue to meet the show\u2019s casting team stretched \u201cround the block<\/span>\u201d, concluded that \u201c<\/span>the overwhelming reason people wanted to be on the show\u201d was the chance to become a celebrity.<\/span><\/p>\n Today, however, young people seem more ambivalent about fame. Take the winners of <\/span>Love Island <\/span>season nine, Kai and Sanam Fagan (the couple married last year). Despite a successful run on the same show, which catalysed Molly-Mae Hague\u2019s career, both Kai and Sanam returned to their day jobs just months after returning home from the Mallorcan villa in 2023. \u201c<\/span>I didn\u2019t go on <\/span>Love Island<\/span> for fame,\u201d Sanam plainly <\/span>told <\/span>OK!<\/span> magazine in 2024<\/span><\/a>. \u201cI was a social worker beforehand and still am.\u201d More recently, 20-year-old American figure skater Alysa Liu told <\/span>W Magazine<\/span><\/a> that she regarded her celebrity as nothing more than an unfortunate byproduct of her skating career: \u201c<\/span>I actually don\u2019t want to be famous. [But] unfortunately, the things I like to do are just going to make me famous.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The statistics tell a similar story. While <\/span>one 2010 survey<\/span><\/a> found that over half of 16-year-olds wanted to be famous in lieu of a career \u2013 with more than a fifth planning to achieve this by appearing on a reality TV show \u2013 <\/span>new YouGov research<\/span><\/a> published this month found that just nine per cent of Gen Z want to be famous, with a paltry <\/span>five<\/span> aspiring to become an influencer, and 79 per cent saying they would \u201cprefer a private life\u201d. But when did fame shift from aspirational to undesirable \u2013 and why?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t want to feel like my entire life is under a microscope\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kim Allen, professor of sociology of youth and culture at the University of Leeds, stresses that the idea of young people being \u201cfame-hungry\u201d has always been overblown by the media. But she acknowledges that the advent of social media has likely made young people even less keen on the idea of being a celebrity than ever before. \u201cYoung people are well aware of the risks that come with social media visibility,\u201d she explains. \u201cThey are aware of how, in a surveillance society, their online presence can leave a digital footprint that can adversely impact their opportunities\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>I\u2019ve never aspired to be famous,\u201d says 27-year-old India. \u201cBeing famous seems like such an invasion of privacy. I wouldn\u2019t want to feel like my entire life is under a microscope for people to prod and pick at every little thing. Personally, I prefer privacy and peace over being seen or popular.\u201d Nilu feels <\/span>similarly. \u201cAbsolutely nothing about being famous \u2013 particularly in the age of smartphones and social media, and especially as a woman \u2013 seems remotely desirable to me,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t like people to know too much about my life, especially because the internet has made everyone insane and weird.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Allen adds that her recent research has shown \u201ca marked down-sizing of aspirations\u201d among young people today. While 20 years ago, reality TV winners could live like kings \u2013 by combining his winnings with the money he earned from media opportunities, Big Brother 2005 winner Anthony Hutton <\/span>\u201cwas able to buy a Range Rover, take a trip to Las Vegas and buy some property\u201d<\/span><\/a> \u2013 today, thanks to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, even tens of thousands of pounds doesn\u2019t stretch very far (the winner of the 2023 series of Big Brother, Jordan Sangha, quipped that he\u2019d be able to pay his council tax with the money). Essentially: what\u2019s the point of aspiring to be famous if you don\u2019t get to be <\/span>rich <\/span>too? \u201cThe social contract has been broken,\u201d Allen continues. \u201cYoung people are well aware that the meritocratic idea that if they work hard, they will achieve their dreams is a hoax.\u201d<\/span> \n