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Why do people yearn for celebrity news? At least some of the hunger centers around schadenfreude -- having joy from the suffering of others. People often act as if joy is dependent on achieving material gain. Seeing people that seem to "have it all" suffer (going through divorce, substance abuse, mental illness, etc.), momentarily shatters that illusion. And then people can think, "Perhaps it's OK that I don't have my own television show, and own three yachts and four mansions."
( And then when things go well for celebrities, there is the voyeurism and fantasy part. People tend to be more interested in the more "attractive" celebrities, right? And yet another reason I think we are interested in celebrities is that we have the illusion that we know them. We get to know their characters as they deal heroically with their on-screen challenges. Our knowledge of a character's life stops when the movie ends. Since our curiosity to know more about the character is frustrated, we want to at least know about the actor.)
Let's chat a bit more about schadenfreude and related concepts. If you've been alive a couple of decades, you've certainly seen plenty of examples illustrating that money does not bring happiness. But what does bring happiness? One of the keys involves learning to fully attend to and enjoy the present moment -- not just learning this as information, but, through practice, developing the skill of living mindfully in this moment. (See: The Challenge of Living in the Present and Beginner's Mind.)
Other keys to happiness involve developing the skill of compassion and loving kindness. This may seem odd to readers: developing a skill of compassion? Don't you just have or not have compassion? There are some types of meditation derived from Buddhist traditions that are designed to cultivate compassion and loving kindness. Functional MRI scans and EEG tests of monks adept in this type of meditation show unprecedented activity in the left prefrontal cortex of the brain --- an area associated with happiness.
The four related traits cultivated by these types of meditation practices are termed: loving kindness, equanimity, compassion, and sympathetic joy. Pertinent to the beginning of this blog entry, sympathetic joy is the exact opposite of schadenfreude -- with sympathetic joy, we derive joy from the joy of others. Think of a close family member doing well and notice the joy you feel -- that is sympathetic joy. To develop more sympathetic joy, when something good happens to another person, say to yourself (with as much meaning as possible), "I'm happy for you. May your good fortune continue. May your good fortune grow." Prior to saying phrases such as these, you might remember when something great happened to a loved one.
When a person is suffering (celebrity or not), you can practice a compassion meditation. Close your eyes and imagine a scene that naturally brings forth compassion, such as hugging a loved one, holding a baby, or being in the presence of a spiritual figure. Then imagine saying to the person suffering, "May you be free from suffering," or "May your suffering ease."
I am not suggesting that schadenfreude is horrible or evil. All of us, at one time or another (and often somewhat unconsciously), felt schadenfreude. However, when we feel compelled to read and listen to the suffering of others, we have a choice: via schadenfreude be very transiently relieved, or cultivate the qualities of empathetic joy, compassion, equanimity, and loving kindness that will bring long term happiness.
