The world of celebrity can feel both distant and intimately familiar, and Liam Payne’s tragic death at just 31 has once again shown how deeply we can connect to public figures, even if we’ve never met them. Whether or not you were a devoted One Direction fan, Payne’s sudden passing has sparked an outpouring of grief across social media and led to vigils being held around the world. But why does the loss of a celebrity like Payne resonate so profoundly with people who only knew him from afar?
When news broke on Wednesday night that Payne had died after a fall from a balcony in Buenos Aires, it sent shockwaves through a generation that grew up with One Direction. The band, formed by Simon Cowell on 2010’s The X Factor, quickly became one of the biggest boy bands in history. With more than 70 million records sold, seven Brit Awards, and millions of devoted …