THE HARRIS POLL #46, September 9, 1998

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It sometimes seems that in this entertainment-flooded world everyone wants to be a celebrity, and that we all want to claim the 15 minutes of fame that Andy Warhol predicted for us. Not so. Most people, in a new Harris Poll, say they have no desire to be famous for anything, thank you. For those who do, more people would like to be famous for doing or being good--for humanitarian achievements, than for anything else.

These are the results of a Harris Poll of 1,011 adults surveyed between July 17 and 21, 1998. Only 30% of the public say they would like to be famous. When these people are asked what, if they had the talent, they would most like to be famous for, the largest number say they would like to be known for their good works, for being and doing good (12%). The next largest numbers say they’d like to be famous as musicians or singers (8%), athletes (8%) or artists (8%). Other fields or occupations where sizable numbers of people would like to be famous include parents/grandparents (6%), teachers (5%), authors (5%), scientists (4%), business executives (2%), religious leaders (2%), doctors (2%), lawyers (1%), politicians (1%) and journalists (1%).

Of course, there is a big difference between a wish list like this and using the more limited talents that God and nature have given us. Personally, I would love to be a great opera singer, but I have no voice. So we also asked people what they would like to be famous for "given the talents you actually have."

Surprisingly, perhaps the replies to this question were rather similar to the earlier question, but there are some interesting differences. Musician or singer (12%) moves to the top of the list, followed by athlete (8%), and artist (7%). Humanitarian (i.e., doing good or being good) drops down to fourth place on this list with 6%. Being famous for success in business however moves up the list from ninth place on the other list to fifth place, in replying to this question, with 6%.

"Would you like to be famous, that is, popular, well-known or widely recognized for your accomplishments, activities, abilities, expertise, or opinions?"

(Spontaneous, Unprompted Replies)

Base: Would like to be famous

"If you had the talent to be the best at any one thing, what would you most like to be famous for?"

Base: Would like to be famous

"Given the talents you actually have what would you most like to be famous for?"

In theory, with a sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 5 percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (non-response), question wording and question order, interviewer bias, weighting by demographic control data and screening (e.g., for likely voters). It is difficult or impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors.

818475

Q501, 502, 503