Why Everyone Wants to Be “Noticed” by Their Favorite Celebrity
Getting recognition from a celebrity is, for many, a dream come true.
For as long as I’ve been on social media, I’ve seen people wanting their favorite celebrities and influencers to “notice” them — whether that be in the form of a like, a comment, a follow, a retweet, a message, etc.
Getting “noticed” — having someone famous or popular on the internet recognize you or your content — is a dream come true for many, especially for young people looking up to creators on platforms like YouTube or Instagram.
There is a whole host of content out there about how to successfully get noticed — articles, WikiHows, Reddit threads, YouTube videos, etc.
To try to get noticed, people will usually leave a comment on a celebrity’s (or influencer’s) Instagram or YouTube (or whatever platform they make content on). People will talk about how much the celebrity or influencer impacted them, say that they inspired them, ask them a question, etc. Many times people will realize that the chances of being noticed are slim, prefacing their comment with something like “you probably won’t see this but…” but they will remain hopeful anyways.
People also DM celebrities on Instagram, for example. Doing this has even recently become a trend, with videos like “DMing Celebrities to Pick My Makeup,” “DM’ing 100 Celebrities To See How Many Would Reply,” and “I SENT A DM TO 100 CELEBRITIES ON INSTAGRAM *it worked*.” Ironically, all the videos I just listed are made by extremely popular YouTubers who likely have hundreds or thousands of DMs from fans themselves.
On Twitter, people will “@” their favorite creators and celebrities, hoping to get noticed.
Fans will often also create elaborate works of art for their favorite celebrities and then tag them in hopes that they will be noticed. Others will also often help out, tagging the celebrity as well.
Getting noticed by a celebrity is also something many of these fans/fan pages will broadcast or put on their pages, for example, noting in their bios if the celebrity follows them, as well as the number of times that the celebrity has liked or commented on their posts.
In the last year or so, I’ve also seen people wanting to be noticed by influencers on TikTok as the app has risen to extreme popularity and produced a whole new crop of celebrities.
TikTok is based around the “For You” page — essentially, an algorithm will provide you with a stream of content customized to you based on your tastes, likes, watch time, etc. Thus, you don’t need to be following someone to come across their content. Thus, because it a lot easier for celebrities to stumble upon a fan’s content, it is easier to get noticed on TikTok than on other platforms such as Instagram or YouTube. Top creators will often like fan videos that they see on their For You pages.
In part because of this, there is more interaction between influencers/celebrities and fans on TikTok than on other apps. I think this also has to do with the fact that most famous TikTokers are very young (in their teens) and have grown fame organically — so they too know what it’s like to admire celebrities and can understand how special it is for people to get noticed. Thus, famous TikTokers will often like and reply to comments on their posts, and even occasionally duet (replying in video form) videos fans have made about them.
Getting noticed by a celebrity, influencer, or creator can be an extraordinary moment for some people — and something they will work hard to try to achieve, through commenting, DMing, making fan art, etc. It’s also indicative of how big celebrity culture has become. Getting noticed by someone famous that you look up to feels special and unique. You feel like, after all your support and admiration, they have acknowledged you, that they have treated you like a friend.
The desire to be noticed is so prevalent that many are even willing to pay for it. On a platform called Cameo, you can pay for a celebrity to send you a personalized message (which you specify) in the form of a short video. This platform has been utilized by everyone from actors to reality TV stars to athletes, and most recently, by Youtube and TikTok creators. It is often used by fans for special occasions such as birthdays.
But it’s important to remember that a Cameo will almost always be more special to the fan than to the celebrity. To the fan, they are finally getting noticed, recognized, acknowledged by one of their favorite people. To the celebrity, well, no matter how much they may enjoy talking to their fans, at the end of the day, they’re capitalizing upon people’s admiration of them to make money.
And while being “noticed” by a celebrity can be fun and exciting (even if you’re paying for it), it can turn problematic if it’s used to affirm a fan’s value or self-worth. Ultimately, the desire by many fans to get “noticed” — even in the smallest way possible, by their favorite celebrity — shows just how much influence celebrities have over our culture, and our lives.
