Posted on 08/23/2006 1:29:26 AM PDT by neverdem
Money and power are handy, but millions of ambitious people are after something other than the corner office or the beach house on St. Bart’s. They want to swivel necks, to light a flare in others’ eyes, to walk into a crowded room and feel the conversation stop. They are busy networking, auditioning, talking up their latest project — a screenplay, a memoir, a new reality show — to satisfy a desire so obvious it is all but invisible.
“To be noticed, to be wanted, to be loved, to walk into a place and have others care about what you’re doing, even what you had for lunch that day: that’s what people want, in my opinion,” said Kaysar Ridha, 26, of Irvine, Calif., a recent favorite of fans of the popular CBS reality series “Big Brother.” “It’s strange and twisted, because when that attention does come, the irony is you want more privacy.”
For most of its existence, the field of psychology has ignored fame as a primary motivator of human behavior: it was considered too shallow, too culturally variable, too often mingled with other motives to be taken seriously. But in recent years, a small number of social scientists have begun to study and think about fame in a different way, ranking it with other goals, measuring its psychological effects, characterizing its devoted seekers.
People with an overriding desire to be widely known to strangers are different from those who primarily covet wealth and influence. Their fame-seeking behavior appears rooted in a desire for social acceptance, a longing for the existential reassurance promised by wide renown.
These yearnings can become more acute in life’s later years, as the opportunities for fame dwindle, “but the motive never dies, and when we realize we’re not going to make it in this...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
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Sounds like they're describing Bill Clinton.
Death is the mother of all creation..or so they say.
What they're describing in Narcissism. Something most of mainstread media types are afflicted with.
Interestingly, politicians are not mentioned, but I think fame is the primary motivator for politicians and not power as most assert.
Perfectly. Fame is at the top of his hierarchy of needs.
Hillary is an even better example.
I've worked in the shadows to support important people & I wouldn't trade it for all the plastic forks in china.
To me there's nothing better than being left alone by the bothersome public, peace & quiet.
Many famous folk would seek out the secret life us unknowns owned.
"Sounds like ... Bill Clinton". LOL. First thought that came to my mind, too.
I have seen this referred to as a desire to feel significant. I have heard teaching on this as a primary motivator since at least 1990.
Shalom.
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When Einstein and Chaplin attended a movie premier together crowds mobbed the vehicle they arrived in. Einstein reportedly asked Chaplin what it all meant. Chaplin, a "celebrity" longer than Einstein, reportedly replied "Nothing."
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