We live in a world where a Target employee can become famous for excellent bagger service. Alex Labeouf, a Texan teen, now holds celebrity status after a picture of him bagging groceries at work went viral.
Now it seems as though the entire internet society knows who “Alex from Target” is, even though the Alex with hopes, dreams and a future isn’t well known at all.
Labeouf now has 664,000 followers on Twitter, has been featured on the Washington Post and CNN and has appeared on The Ellen Show all because a girl took a picture of him while he wasn’t looking and said he was cute.
Shelby Russell, a sophomore English major, said there should be regulations on taking off-guard pictures of random people.
“I think they should have to get permission for photos that they’re going to use online or in the paper. I’ve seen some pictures that weren’t exactly attractive, and you always have to wonder if the person in the photo appreciated being on the front page looking like they did,” Russell said.
A few years ago, the phrase “famous for nothing” was related to the celebrity families like the Kardashians, Hiltons, Housewives, and hypocritical “reality stars” of the day who based their income on personality and popularity.
This has now become a well sought after career for many people but it does in fact require time, energy, and a certain type of talent for saying and doing things that become popular.
With Labeouf as an example, we are now seeing a shift in that people really can become famous for absolutely nothing. He wasn’t aware that the picture was being taken and did not circulate it himself, yet he has become a household name in less than a week.
Pictures are taken at almost every big event on campus. Most of these pictures are posted to the ULM Facebook page.
Jeffery Williams, a sophomore kinesiology major, said students should always look presentable enough to be caught on camera.
“I don’t care if they take pictures of me. If we are a school function we should look presentable any way so why does it matter,” Williams said.
Some students find it flattering to find themselves in candid shots.
Rachel Maddox, a junior English major, said she enjoys seeing pictures of her on Facebook.
“I like finding candid photos of myself on ULM’s Facebook page, all I have to do is tag myself,” Maddox said.
Camera phones are intended to be a convenient way to take and share spur of the moment photos with friends and family. Sometimes they accidentally make someone famous. This is the generation that made “selfie” a word.
