Social media has made constant exposure a common experience. In a sense, everyone has come closer to 5 minutes of fame than has ever been possible. From self-flattering profiles and status updates, to OOTD (Outfit Of The Day) and AMA (Ask Me Anything) posts, people are actively seeking others’ attention.

Every like and every view feels like approval, and the more of it they have, they more special they feel. For internet users, “publicity has become the defining ideology leading to a constant preoccupation with visibility,” professor Joseph Faina suggests and it’s impossible not to agree with him. But this was not always the case.

According to Holly Grout, an associate professor at the University of Alabama, all the essential features of celebrity culture were developed in the 19th century. “If you look at Barnum’s promotion of ‘Lindomania’ (predating Beatlemania by 100 years), the popularity of collecting and trading portraiture cards, or the celebrity endorsements of a growing number of products, from tea and mustard to cosmetics and hair creams, all accompanied by testimonials and images of recognizable public figures,” she explained in an article for Aeon.

In the 20th century, the celebrity concept had a tremendous departure from its earlier periods. “It correlated celebrity with cinema, and aligned it with the emergence of the Hollywood star. The 19th century set the stage for modern celebrity; the 20th century, through the mass media, amplified celebrity beyond all expectation. Hollywood did not invent celebrity; it simply gave us more of it,” Groutis argues.

Interestingly, the fascination with Hollywood celebrities had to do with the fact that they were both nothing like us and everything like us. No wonder celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor and Greta Garbo captured the collective imagination all around the globe. They had a privileged place in people’s minds, becoming the symbols of status, beauty, leadership and everything in between.