OMG, guess who's got a dose of CWS!

"This is Giuliana Rancic, thank you for watching E! News."

I hastily open up my laptop and with lightning-fast fingers type "Khloe Kardashian pregnant?" into Google. I press the enter key and, within seconds, results flood the page.

With wide eyes, I scroll down the page, skimming every result.

We all do it - check out the tabloid articles on our favourite celebrities - whether it's a juicy scandal, or to see if they are dating the hottest new "bad boy" on the scene.

We lap up their oh-so-interesting Twitter updates - "My cat just peed on me lol" - and research their relationship status on Google.

However, recent findings suggest that a seemingly innocent interest in celebrities and their daily lives could be a sign and symptom of a budding mental illness, an illness named CWS: celebrity worship syndrome.

We are overexposed to the media these days. Media messages are ubiquitous and omnipresent in all aspects of society.

Not a day goes by without us consuming some form of media content, whether by watching television or reading the newspaper.

However, such overdosing could be a key contributor to celebrity worship syndrome.

Shows such as E! News and Entertainment Tonight, which focus on celebrities and their daily lives, encourage and persuade us to update ourselves on the current events of Hollywood.

Magazines, specifically teenage tabloid magazines such as Creme and Girlfriend, feed our hunger for celebrity gossip.

A considerable amount of media content is celebrity-based. The large influence celebrities hold over the media could be the spark that begins CWS.

The media lure us into the "glamorous" world of Hollywood, making us interested in its never-ending events. We end up curious about celebrities and their lives.

Twitter is the door, the very entrance to our favourite celebrities and their lives.

How else would we know that Miley Cyrus ate mashed potatoes for dinner?

Or that Kim Kardashian just had a trip to the bathroom?

Nowadays, celebrities have access to, and use, social networking sites - prominently Twitter - to interact with their fan database and to convey their thoughts. But it is this very intimate and personal interaction between fans and celebrities that contributes to celebrity worship syndrome.

The personal information that celebrities share when they tweet could lead a slightly crazed, more-than-obsessed fan to the delusional belief that he or she has a personal relationship with the celebrity.

The private lives and thoughts of celebrities are fully exposed and exhibited to the "adoring fans" through these social networking sites, which could prompt celebrity worship syndrome. Fans believe that they have a "special bond" with the celebrity - as if they are linked or connected in an exclusive, unique way.

This is a major symptom of celebrity worship syndrome. CWS is an obsessive, addictive disorder in which a person is overly involved with the details of a celebrity's personal life.

It is estimated that a third of the world's population is afflicted by CWS - which includes Justin Bieber's stampede of overexcited, screaming female fans who "intensely research" him daily.

CWS researchers observed in an experiment involving 600 subjects that 10 per cent had complete faith in the idea they had a "special bond" or personal relationship with the celebrity, while about 1 per cent could be classified as "borderline pathological".

Sufferers of CWS are infatuated with the celebrity to the degree that they believe that they are personally linked to them. Celebrity worship becomes a substitute for reality. CWS victims often find it easier to follow someone else's life than to live their own - their fixation on the celebrity becomes an escape from the pressures and expectations of reality.

Celebrity worship syndrome is a serious mental condition and is brought about by many factors. A key trigger is the amount a person is exposed to the media and social networking sites. Like a herd of sheep, we follow the lives of celebrities, absorbing every trend and spreading every rumour.

As I close my laptop, a thought flashes through my mind. Is what we are doing based simply on an innocent interest, or a budding mental illness?

You decide.

Patricia Feria, Year 10, Sancta Maria College