If your favorite celebrity died, would you feel like you were dying too?

If you answered yes to this question, you may be borderline pathological.

According to the “Celebrity Attitude Scale,” this can be a sign of celebrity worship, fantasy proneness and dissociation, which are signs of mental instability.

I’m not saying there is something wrong with enjoying certain celebrities. Everyone has their favorite musicians and actors. The problem comes when people either overly connect to a celebrity or feign connection to a celebrity they have no actual interest in.

Yes, certain celebrities play a big role in our lives. Certain celebrities can be role models for people and provide some kind of comfort and hope. However, if you think Dr. Phil is speaking to you through the television, you’ve gone beyond connection and straight into obsession.

Although the problem of celebrity worship makes me roll my eyes, people who pretend to have an emotional connection to a celebrity only after that celebrity has died makes me want to tear my left arm off and slap myself with it.

Several famous musicians and actors died recently, including Glenn Frey, Alan Rickman and David Bowie. All across Facebook I have seen people posting condolences (the proper response to a celebrity death) or declarations of adoration in the form of forced eulogies (the incorrect way to mourn).

Many of my peers posted statuses stating they would miss Bowie and his brilliant work, when in reality they only know part of the lyrics to “Space Oddity.” It’s insincere to act like your life will be different without a celebrity you manufactured a connection with in your imagination.

It’s OK  to feel sad when a celebrity you admire dies. It is not OK  to post a 1,500 word monologue on Facebook when a celebrity you have no interest in dies.

Mourning celebrities you have no connection to is not only a pathetic way to get attention, it’s an insult to the people who actually care about those celebrities.

Ground control to major Tom, you need to cut it out.