Monday, May 8 marked the annual Met Gala Ball, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute and hosted by Vogue’s Editor in Chief Anna Wintour. Hundreds of A-List celebrities pack the museum’s red carpet in incredibly lavish outfits from top designers all over the world for what’s considered the biggest night in fashion.

At every Met Gala, the general public goes wild, especially on social media. Millions of people world-wide critique the expensive and often outlandish outfits of their favorite celebs. However, the amount of attention and fascination these types of events get on social media is completely overdone, as the lives of the elite begin to overshadow what really matters around the globe.

During a time of international mass unrest, the way in which social media focuses solely on these frivolous and superficial events is completely disrespectful and ignorant. This is especially true when the events depicted don’t matter on a global scale. 

When social media blows entertainment and celebrity news out of proportion, the true reality of what is happening in the world is hidden from the general public, keeping people blissfully unaware of current events.

I myself have seen this trend in full force—as I scroll through Instagram, Tiktok and the like, the only “news” I see is about celebrities and influencers. With the recent Met Gala, the amount of time and energy social media puts into fawning over the superficial elements of the top one percent of society is laughable. 

In the end, there is nothing wrong with keeping up with your favorite celebrities, but because social media devotes so much time to updates of their lives, the public is cut off from reality and current events around the globe.