Should Public Figures Be Accountable for Their Private Actions?

The world is in a state of flux, changing drastically over the last few decades. The great milestones of technology has led us into the new Technological Age of the 21st century, whereby innovations such as the Internet allows information to be spread in seconds. Today, public figures such as celebrities and politicians play an increasing role in our society, shaping our views and mindsets of the world. Thus, it is especially important that they are held accountable for their actions, even those undertaken in private. Although it is often argued that we can overlook what is done in private if the person performs his or her public job well, it is indeed worrying with their massive influence over society. In my opinion, public figures should be held accountable for their actions, even those undertaken in private. With technological advances in the past few decades, innovations such as the Internet allows us to access information all around the world. We have taken pride in how well informed we are, which at the same time guarantees an increase in the transparency of the private lives of public figures. The actions of public figures yield a huge influence over society as the media finds its role in exploiting the private lives of these people. Inevitably, we have developed an unhealthy obsession with the lifestyles of public figures, especially those of celebrities. In the recent years, the fan base of celebrity magazines and tabloid newspapers has grown exponentially and still going strong. According to Romaniainsider,the tabloid Libertatea, with 1.25 million readers each issue, occupies the first place in the readership of print media in Romania, showing our noxious and unflagging obsession with the private lives of celebrities and other public figures. With the troubling widespread influence of public figures in our society, it is of upmost importance that they are held accountable for their private actions, as immoral and destructive actions that they engage in will no doubt