What do you want out of life? Do you hope to make the world a better place? Do you dream of becoming a millionaire? Or have you set your sights on becoming a star?

　　If what you want most is to see your name in lights, be featured on Entertainment Tonight, or have a mob of screaming fans swoon in your presence, you're not the only one.<注1> Many Americans dream of fame, and such fantasies tend to be more common among teens than adults. When Girls?Life magazine recently asked its readers to name their biggest goal in life, the largest number (35 percent) said that they wanted to become famous.

　　The Corporation for Public Broadcasting<注2> found that many of the kids and teens it polled for its 2000 Roper Youth Report<注3> gave similar responses. Although wealth was the number one dream reported by young people, fame was near the top of the list. Beauty and singing talent-qualities often seen as routes to fame-also ranked high.

　　We are all familiar with the dangers of fame. We're seen celebrities waste their millions, louse up4 their love relationships, fight with their families, and mess up their lives with drugs or alcohol. We're observed what too much money spent on too many plastic surgery operations5 can do to a person's face. We know about the pressures celebrities live with and the lack of privacy they deal with. So why do so many of us still want to be famous?

　　Reaching for Fame

　　Perhaps we are all reaching for fame because today, more than ever before, fame appears to be within reach. Andy Warhol<注6>, a famous 20th-century artist, predicted that in the future everyone would be famous for 15 minutes. Are we nearing the future time that Warhol was describing? Watch a few hours of television this week, and you might be convinced. Prime-time game shows and daytime talk shows are filled with folks living out their 15 minutes of fame.<注7> Reality TV shows such as Survivor, Temptation Island, and The Real World transform average peoplesintosinstant celebrities. Some "reality"?programs, such as PopStar2 and Making the Band, promise-and deliver-sudden stardom<注8> to musically talented young people.

　　Though TV might seem to be the fastest routesintosthe spotlight, other types of modern-day technology also offer chances for self-promotion to wanna-be stars. Today, more and more people own or have access to recording and film equipment or publishing software. Huge numbers also have access to the Internet, and many people have their own Web sites. Fame seekers can use the Web to post a favorite mug shot, a film clip, or their band's touring schedule.<注9> They can do so for little cost and in a space that can be viewed by millions.

　　A Star-Struck Society

　　Perhaps it's only natural that so many of us fantasize about fame and plot out<注10> ways to gain it. After all, we live in a culture obsessed with the doings of famous people. Just take a look sometime as you're walking through the checkout line at your local grocery store. The racks<注11> are full of magazines reporting on the lives of TV and film stars, athletes, singers, musicians, famous politicians, and foreign royalty. At least three out of four magazines feature a celebrity on the cover and promise some juicy bit of celebrity gossip inside, perhaps a peek at J.Lo's wedding dress or Carson Daley's new girlfriend.<注12>

　　The televisions in our homes are just as full of celebrity faces and facts. Some TV shows focus on nothing but the lives of famous people. Other news, drama, comedy, and sports programs introduce us to the actors, athletes, singers, and program hosts who become the objects of our fascination.

　　Changing Priorities?

　　Americans love their celebrities and never seem to tire of celebrity gossip. Well-almost never. Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, celebrity gossip temporarily ceased. For a few days after the attacks, nobody paid much attention to Michael Jordan's plans for a comeback or Christina Aguilera's outfits.<注13>

　　The Washington Post was among the many U.S newspapers that decided not to run gossip columns<注14> during that time. "I would feel personally silly and irrelevant if I were doing my column right now,"?said Lloyd Grove, a gossip columnist for the Post. "I think my time would be better spent going to a blood bank<注15>."

　　Cyndi Stivers, the editor of Time Out New York magazine, made similar comments. "It would be just obscene at a time like this to come out with some silly celebrity hoo-ha,"<注16> she said.

　　Some people looked around at our suddenly somber, sad, and earnest nation and wondered: Has America changed for good? Have we passedsintosa new phase-one in which celebrities and their brand of fame no longer hold any meaning and value?

　　It didn't take long after the tragedies, though, for celebrities to find their way backsintosthe spotlight. Television and radio stations announced Michael Jackson's intention to make a record and donate the proceeds to disaster relief. Other celebrity responses to the attacks were also quickly made known. Within days, many top musicians, actors, and TV personalities joined forces to participate in a Tribute to Heroes celebrity telethon for the United Way.<注17> Every major network covered the event, which was watched by 89 million viewers.

　　Goals and Happiness

　　Are we just as obsessed with fame and famous people as we ever were? Or have the events of this past year really changed our values and goals?

　　If we really have changed, that might not be such a bad thing. Recent psychological studies show that people who pursue extrinsic<注18> goals-such as fame, wealth, or public image-tend to feel less happiness and a lower sense of well-being than other people do.shavingsan extrinsic goal means being motivated by something outside of yourself. Extrinsic goals are only really accomplished when other people acknowledge them to be accomplished. Studies show that even people who reach extrinsic goals-achieving fame or wealth, for instance-tend to be less happy in their lives than people who set intrinsic<注19>goals.

　　An intrinsic goal is a motivating factor that is inside you, instead of outside of you. People who set out to achieve personal growth or to build better relationships with friends or family have set intrinsic goals. Studies show that such people are more likely to be happy and to feel a sense of well-being than are people who set extrinsic goals.

　　Teens tend to hear a lot about the need to "set goals"?in their lives. But what if by setting certain kinds of goals, young people really are setting themselves up for future unhappiness?What kinds of goals have you set for yourself? Are you planning to spend your life chasing after the fame game? If what you really want is happiness, maybe it's time to change your plans.