ABSTRACT
During the mass media era, there was plenty of discussion about the possible social effects of an emerging celebrity culture, particularly from the 1980s onwards when it started to become more prominent. This chapter addresses the role of celebrity culture in supplying the discursive repertoire, as well as the value system, for the ordinary person's construction of a public presence online. It chapter argues that, celebrity's pervasiveness is now a significant attribute of the re-invented media, but still need to understand how it might intervene in and thus affect the social life of the individual citizen or consumer. The key premise of reality TV -- that audiences want to watch ordinary people perform themselves on screen, remains valid. Social media not only demonstrates the lessons of white-collar business success by rewarding flexibility, entrepreneurialism, and risk-taking; it also provides a blueprint of how to prosper in a society where social status is predicated on the cultural logic of celebrity.
