Celebrity

Each of the ten teenage girls polled  in a recent STEPNOWNews survey could share details of the Whitney Houston death, but when asked about local murder cases like that of Marchella Pierce not one person knew who the child was even though she was murdered in their backyard.

“I think we are so desensitized by the media and celebrities that we lost our ability to truly care for everyday people. Most people think ‘well thank God it wasnt my family member’,” says film and writing instructor Frank Perez.

Pierce, a four year old Brooklyn girl, was found beaten, starved, and drugged in her Brooklyn home in 2011.  Now, both her grandmother and mother are on trial for her murder. Marchella Pierce was at the center of one of the many childhood abuse cases that fails to attract young people’s attention.

However, the girls who participated in the STEP survey were able to go into great detail about all the drugs that eventually caused Houston’s death. They were able to repeat where she was, the hotel room, straight  down to all the drugs found in her room.

“Maybe it’s the fascination of seeing a celebrity, we figure they must have the perfect life. So when they are kicked off their high horse it makes them seem more relatable,” said Catholic school teacher Catherine Contois.

Celebrities receive weeks of spot light if they get a divorce, cheat on a spouse, or pass away. While cases like Trayvon Martin receive media attention, it is up to everyday people to make it a hot topic.

“I first heard of Trayvon Martin from Facebook and Tumbler. My friends kept talking about it. [At first] I never picked up The Daily News and saw it blown up as much as Michael Jackson’s death,” said Cathedral High School student Tatiana Sanders.