I know most of you reading this probably have your own favorite reality television show(s) and I am guilty of it as well. Reality shows are becoming the new face of television. I remember when the "Real World" and "Survivor," were basically the only reality shows available. Do you remember the days when MTV was actually "MUSIC Television?!" When I turn on that channel now, I am either watching 16 and Pregnant or Teen Mom. (what is up with these teen mom shows anyway? i'll save that for another post) It used to be a channel of music videos and performances but now it's made up of strictly reality shows.
The issue with reality shows is they are simply false advertisement. This is most dangerous for young children or teens watching these shows because they develop a skewed vision of how the world is. They are not "real-life" situations. In fact, most reality television is aiming the camera towards celebrities or people with a lot of money on shows such as Keeping up with the Kardashians, Mobwives, Basketball wives, and Kendra. The majority of the viewers watching these shows cannot compete or even relate to the people on these shows, we tend to idolize these people simply because of what they have. And that's where the evolution of reality television comes into play. When the concept first started, reality television seemed more "real," than it does now. It is almost impossible to think it is not scripted. Some reality stars admit they only joined the show to break into the acting business. It is crazy to think we spend so much of our time watching other people's lives and being so caught up in it that we forget about our own goals and interests.
Sooo true! its funny how people look at these shows and base their reality on them. i have seen it too many time. for example my ex would watch '16 and pregnant' and then want to have a baby! (SHE WAS 21 IM NOT A CREEP, lol) One of my cousin's watches Jersey Shore and claims to "base her life off of it." its too sad in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI agree that reality TV has been taken almost too far, and that it has become false advertisement. I watch reality TV, but not nearly as much as I used to. This time last year I was watching about 4 or 5 reality shows on a regular basis. Now that my favorite reality show, Survivor, is over--Go Boston Rob!--I only keep up with The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
ReplyDeleteI think that people like to think that they can relate to the "stars" of these reality TV shows. But the fact of the matter is, these shows, like you said, aren't reality. They're scriped and they portray people with lifestyles that many people only dream about. What's more is that they are influencing their viewers to want to be just like the reality stars.
Seeing previews for "Keeping up with the Kardashians" or "Khloe and Lamar" it is hard for me to believe that I even liked those shows. Reality shows have been so successful because so many people tune into them and they're so cheap to produce, and I don't see them disappearing anytime soon. I give whoever came up with the concept of reality TV alot of credit.
I remember when reality television was new, and it was never really marketed as actual reality.. Obviously the situations in Survivior couldn't be replicated in every day life, but shows quickly moved over to the type of reality shows such as Jersey Shore. It's really a bad influence, because it's glorifying lifestyles which aren't very.. inspiring. Especially these dating shows like Rock of Love, (which I watched, okay), it really portrays women terribly. And all of it's ilk is all over television now. I can't even imagine what television will be like in 5 years- just cameras in people's houses, without any other sort of production?
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