Last month, one of my classmates, James, wrote a piece about how celebrities act as reference groups to consumers, and as such, they must do their best to make ethical decisions. James refers to Paris Hilton as an example, stating that the debut of her Chihuahua puppy in “The Simple Life” caused a skyrocket in Chihuahua sales, which has now turned into a massive influx of this breed being brought into local animal shelters. Should celebrities really be responsible for the fads that may be created based on how they present themselves to the world? Are reference groups really as powerful as James claims them to be?

Although, yes, celebrities are essentially just ordinary humans, I have to agree with James and say that celebrities need to be conscious of the signals that they send to their fans. Whether you’re an actor, a singer, or an elite socialite, you have the power to impact and change society in a variety of ways. When T.I. released his hit song “Whatever You Like” with the lyrics “Stacks on deck, Patron no ice,” teenagers everywhere thought that it was cool to walk around with a bottle of Patron in hand, as if they were one of T.I’s groupies.  Similarly, with the growing number of size zero waists around Hollywood, young women and men are being bombarded with the message that “Nothing tastes better than skinny feels”. Celebrities have an enormous amount of power over society, and I think they owe it to society to use this power in a way that will further benefit society in the future. The power of reference groups is immense, and if we can channel this power in a productive way, there is absolutely no limit to the ends that we, collectively as a whole, can achieve in the upcoming years.

To visit James’ blog, visit https://blogs.ubc.ca/jamesshaw/