What Would John Lennon Say About Social Media and Modern Celebrity Culture?

Look, I lived through Beatlemania when it was absolute madness — screaming girls, controlled interviews, no privacy whatsoever. The hysteria was real, you couldn't walk down the street. But at least there was a distance between us and the public. You had your home, your space where the cameras couldn't follow you into your bedroom.

Now? Christ, everyone's got a camera in their pocket. Everyone's performing all the time, curating their lives like they're making a film about themselves. It's exhausting just thinking about it. The difference is, back then you could switch it off — turn off the radio, don't go to the concert. Now it's constant. It's in your house, in your pocket, in your face at breakfast.

What interests me is that people are more isolated than ever while being more "connected." You've got thousands of followers but nobody actually knows you. You're curating an image of yourself, which is what the record companies forced us to do, except now you're doing it to yourself. You're your own Brian Epstein, polishing your own image.

The real tragedy is that authenticity becomes impossible. Everyone's always thinking about how it looks, how it plays, what gets the most likes. That's the opposite of what being an artist is about. Being an artist is about saying what you actually think, even when it's uncomfortable, even when it's wrong. Especially when it might be wrong.

But here's the thing — the tool isn't the enemy. A camera is just a camera. Social media is just a channel. What matters is whether you're using it to communicate something true or whether you're just trying to look good. Are you trying to connect with people or are you trying to impress them? That's the question that hasn't changed since the Cavern Club days. The medium's different, but the choice is still yours.