issue29

lancet001UID: 2357782

TOPIC: ISSUE29 - "Public figures such as actors, politicians, and athletes should expect people to be interested in their private lives. When they seek a public role, they should expect that they will lose at least some of their privacy."
WORDS: 500          TIME: 上午 12:45:00 +30      DATE: 2007-7-21

Nowadays there is intensive media coverage concentrating on the private life of public persons as a result of people’ growing interests in this aspect, which inevitably make public figures lose increasing individual room. Then, should public persons lose their own privacy? As far as I am concerned, although over-exposure of their privacy undoubtedly will severely harm their normal lives, temperately opening some of their privacy will have a favorable influence not only on them but on the society as a whole.

For public figures themselves, opening parts of their private life will help them to better keep their fame and develop their careers. For one thing, by doing this, people can more deeply have the knowledge of public figures they are fond of and further strengthen their favor to them. Generally, in the eye of people, public figures are always wore a mysterious veil and so it is difficult for people to approach true them. Nevertheless, after some of private lives of them are opened, people can see more respects of them on hobby and character. And this certainly can enhance people's recognition to them and diminish the distance between them and common people. In addition, focusing on some of privacy of famous persons also will decrease the possibility they make mistakes. In fact, the public figures have larger power and lusts than common people, and so people's focus on privacy will become the effective tool by which their behaviors may be effectively supervised. As a result, due to be afraid of losing their prestige, the public figures usually can pay more attention to their own behavior, which in turn guarantees their repute. Therefore, losing parts of privacy virtually will benefit public figures themselves.

On the other hand, making the public know about some of individual lives of eminent persons also can produce extremely beneficial impacts on the society as a whole. Actually, every famous figure has an unusual experience; it is by virtue of their persistence and relentless struggle that they can achieve their today's splendid attainments. By knowing about these stories behind them, people gain strong spiritual power to overcome the obstruction in work and life, which definitely will push the development of entire society. Take Chenglong, the famous film star in Kongfu, for example. Today under the help of masses of media coverage about his life, people may clearly have the knowledge of his hard struggle experience about how to become a prominent film star and how to incessantly improve himself in the already succeed life. This certainly provides people with beneficial guidance and simultaneously activates them to strive to pursue their life goal. As a result, the whole society will become more active and prosperous.

However, it must be admitted that over-exposure of privacy of public figures will impair their normal right largely and even produce a disastrous effect on their lives. A public figure is a ordinary person as well; he has right to keep his own some secret, which is protected by the Constitution. Once individual live of them is paid excessive attention on, they may lose all of private room. As a result, their lives will be completely broken. The example of the family of a sport star in China destroyed by undue media coverage well illustrates the point. Although there are just some ordinary quarrels of family between the couple of sport stars, under the entensive focus from the public, the conflict between the couple is enlarged and eventually they is forced to divorce. Apparently, it is as a result of the excessive and illegitimate attention to the normal individual live from the public that the tragedy happened. Consequently, over-exposure private life will necessarily have unfavorable influence on the public figures.

In sum, moderately opening their private life not only is helpful for public persons to sustain their repute and resist their mistakes, but make whole society become more positive and harmony. Nevertheless, people should not unduly focus on the privacy of eminent persons, but should offer them with some private room belonging to ordinary person in order to avoid to destroying their lives.

[ 本帖最后由 lancet001 于 2007-7-22 10:23 编辑 ]