These days people pay more attention to famous film stars than to famous scientists. Why is this happening? Explain the trend, giving reasons and examples to support your opinion.

Nowadays, most people show more interest in popular actors rather than successful scientists. Firstly, this essay will discuss how exposure to social media is one of the reasons why this is occurring and secondly, discuss why movie actors are more recognizable to the general public than scientists. On the one hand, the entertainment industry is widely promoted, from television, cinemas and in social media. Through the power of social media, many actors have their lives followed, so their fans can keep up to date with whatever they are doing. They often have millions of followers on Instagram posting photographs of themselves doing everyday tasks, allowing the public to have an insight into their lives. For instance, in 2017 Facebook and Instagram merged taking with them 90% of famous movie actors social media accounts, as opposed to lesser known public figures. On the other hand, well-known movie actors are regularly placed in front of the general public, through movie theatres and television. This is a form of entertainment, that peaks our interest in them, to be followed, looked at and commented on. Many people do not follow recognised chemists or physicists in the same way as they are little known to the masses. Science is not an easy subject for most to get interested in and those who are, normally find that this is more of a niche area. For example, the University of London completed a survey in 2017 that asked students to tick the names of famous people they had heard of, with 90% choosing famous actors. In conclusion, movie actors are regularly put in front of the masses, encouraging them to follow them on social media, whereas science and its researchers hold less interest as this is more of a niche subject.