Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous:Celebrity Media Diet and Cultivation of

Emerging Adults’ Materialism

Jennifer LewallenBrandon Miller

University of Missouri

In 2013, a movie called The Bling Ring hit theaters everywhere. The film is a satirical portrayal of a true story of several L.A. area teenagers who robbed celebrity homes and were dubbed “the bling ring” by the news media. This story is an exemplar of society’s obsession with celebrity culture over the last decade.

Media scholars have taken interest in the potential effects and implications of a celebrity media diet. Scholars have also explored adolescent attitudes toward celebrity culture, yet not much is known about the emerging adult population. Members of this subpopulation typically have expendable income and are simultaneously learning the importance of financial responsibility.

Results of the present paper indicate significant linear relationships between 1) celebrity magazine consumption, 2) celebrity TV news consumption, 3) total celebrity media diet, and materialism. Results suggest that a media diet high in celebrity culture and lifestyle has significant impact on emerging adult preoccupation with consumer culture. These findings are discussed in light of cultivation theory.

Introduction

• Cultivation Theory• Heavy television users are more likely to believe in a “television reality” rather

than a fact-based reality (Gerbner et al., 2002)• Selectivity is a significant contributor to genre-specific cultivation effects (Morgan

& Shanahan, 2010)

• Celebrity Media Diet• Celebrities increase the desire for identification by representing an overvalued

image of the self, with the media presenting celebrities as a glorified version of the consumer (Barron, 2006; Kitch, 2000).

• Materialism• Much of the social psychology research has focused on advertising and children• Not much has been done to examine adolescents, emerging adults, media diet,

and materialism (Chaplin & John, 2007).

Literature Review

RQ1: Will amount of celebrity magazines read be related to levels of materialism?

RQ2: Will amount of celebrity TV watched be related to levels of materialism?

RQ3: Will overall celebrity media diet be related to levels of materialism?

Research Questions

• Sample of 224 undergraduates (169 women, 55 men) from a large university in the Midwestern region of the U.S.

• Completed an online survey about their celebrity media diet and materialism beliefs

• Population of interest was emerging adults, thus undergraduate students were recruited for the study. • Only those who were 18-25 years of age were retained

in the sample for analysis.

Method

Three simple linear regressions were conducted using SPSS

DV: Materialism

Independent Variable

B SE B β Adjusted R2 p-value

Celebrity Magazine Exposure

.076 .034 .184 .027 .027

Celebrity TV News Exposure

.086 .042 .162 .020 .043

Total Celebrity Media Diet

.016 .007 .176 .026 .016

RQ1

RQ2

RQ3

• It is possible that individuals with higher levels of materialism are drawn to celebrity-based media

• This study demonstrates that emerging adults may be an important population to study with regard to materialism

• Expendable income now, but will be making major purchases in the future

• Credit card debt is a major concern for this age demographic

• Future studies should employ experimental methods to possibly establish causal connections between celebrity media diet and materialism

Limitations & Future Directions