The things that bring people the most pleasure can often actually be bad for them. When reality TV first emerged, creators believed they had struck gold with showcasing real peoples’ lives. Over time, reality TV has evolved and contains very little “real” elements today. These controversial shows have risen to create a new generation and have sparked many conversations and opinions. Some people are outraged by the unbelievable content and others could spend hours relishing in the humor. Although enjoyed by many, reality TV negatively impacts our society as a whole

When it comes to reality television most people think of the current shows that are now airing. However, to understand reality TV’s roots you have to go way back to the black-and-white days. It all started when dating shows, game shows, and prank shows emerged in the 1940’s. Reality TV was born with a prank show was called Candid Camera. The creators’ goal was to catch people in any comical situations and create goofy pranks. America fell in love with the light-hearted and fun premise. The base of reality television has always been humor and shows like America’s Funniest Home Videos and MTV’s Punk’d have kept it alive and well. In the 1950’s, contestant shows became the new obsession. Everyone rooted for regular people to achieve fame and recognition. The Miss America Pageant was highly popular and created excitement in homes across the nation. Shows like, Family Feud, Amateur Hour, and Star Search gave average people the hope to have their ten seconds of fame. Top Chef and American Idol continue the tradition of broadcasting people competing for prizes. People were able to show off their quirky talents and were offered opportunities to showcase themselves. In 1965 when the The Dating Game was released, Americans found their guilty pleasure. Producers now knew how to get to their audiences; through love problems and dating shows. People found interest in strangers finding love and watching it all play out before their eyes. The three contestants on the show would answer questions to be picked by their “perfect match.” The dating drama continues with The Bachelor today. Shortly after The Dating Game, reality television changed forever. The new style followed real people’s interactions and difficulties. Camera crews followed an American family in the 70’s in a 12-part documentary to showcase the many struggles they encountered. An openly gay son named Lance and the divorce of his parents highlight the controversial issues showcased on the show. Americans appreciated the realness of the family and could relate to all that they faced. The scandal and risky material pulled ten million viewers in each week. TV creators realized that with a little help from editing and scripting, a show could become instantly even better. The philosophy of using “enhanced reality” made it possible to create even more dramatic interactions between characters (“The History of Reality Television Programs”). Since then, this method has been applied to many shows involving a group’s life, blurring the lines of scripted and reality. Today, shows like The Real World and The Jersey Shore have continued to supply us with tons of drama between characters. The Real World is, “a show about seven strangers who are picked to live in a house, to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start being real” (“The History of Reality Television Programs”). The intense emotion and intriguing format has made the show very successful. The last advancement of reality television took place in the late 70’s and 80’s. These shows offered a behind the scenes view of different places and jobs.  These shows also provided insight into the motivations and personal struggles of the people involved. The show Cops gives a new perspective to the experiences of police officers and the crimes they encounter on a daily basis. Shows like Miami Ink and Deadliest Catch give viewers the chance to look into specific industries (“The History of Reality Television Programs”). 

After years of reality TV, it was not until the 2000’s that the genre began to skyrocket. At first, little knowledge was obtained about the effects of the fresh approaches to television. Because of the huge interest, researchers and doctors began to test the effects the reality television could possibly be having on society. They soon came to realize how much of a focus there was on superficiality. An article in USA Today about the real effects of reality TV explains that in time this will definitely take a toll on people’s body image and self esteem. The shows display many different behaviors that are either rewarded or punished. However, many negative actions are never punished. This can cause viewers to watch these acts and find them desirable. The fear is that after digesting this, people will begin to apply it to their own lives.  Because they are much cheaper to produce, reality TV requires much less viewership to be profitable for a network. This incentivizes creators to focus on profit by portraying many negative stereotypes throughout a show, which can border on negligence. Micki Fahner of USA Today, writes “it seems that reality show directors and producers are not looking to cast whole, complete people. They’re casting types and that leads to stereotypes” (Fahner). A stereotype is a fixed and oversimplified idea of a person that may not be true at all. The stereotypes create an idea that a whole group of people acts or believes in the same thing.

 Reality television often puts people in situations that test people’s emotions and behaviors. These forced situations can be seen as entertainment. Shows like The Real World are based on throwing all kinds of people into a house and seeing how they will act towards each other. In 2001, The American Association for the Advancement of Science released an article about an upcoming British reality TV experiment. Scientists decided to re-do a psychological experiment that went very wrong in the past on a new test group. The original experiment forced students to play roles of prisoners and guards in a mock jail. The results indicate how powerful social pressure in a group setting can be. In the new show, producers are hoping to create an intense situation in a safer way. The fear is that the new participants will not hold back in any way when trying to create drama. Zimbardo says, “There is no question in my mind but that BBC and their consultants are hoping for something dramatic to erupt, to make it riveting for viewers” (Shouse). Good ratings are essential for a program.  Heightened and extreme situations will only make it more successful. “If we don’t get the phenomenon that Zimbardo observed, then the whole thing is pointless,” a researcher says (Shouse). Reality television provokes its contestants by putting them in certain situations that cause them to act in ways they otherwise would not with the intense pressures and emotions they are surrounded by.

Reem Ibrahim of Spirit Magazine explains how easy it is to access reality TV, making the harmful effects spread rapidly. Teens are now being subjected to sex, drugs, and foul language far earlier in their lives. This widespread phenomenon has resulted in a lack of focus in the young. Based on a study, teens can be glued to their televisions for up to 28 hours a week because of the obsessive nature that is developed. Many reality shows have caused young girls to place a value on themselves based strictly on their beauty and appearance. They believe that fame is the ultimate achievement to receive glamour and luxurious things. With the need to be perfect and beautiful, girls seem to be losing sight of the more important things in life. They compare themselves to the characters they look up to; creating very high standards that can never be met. Ibrahim says, “concern that the obsession with being physically attractive and sexually desirable as portrayed on television may contribute to the rise in eating disorders among young girls” (Ibrahim). The ridiculous pressures from society and television has resulted in many troubled teens.

Reality television shows have also caused major attitudinal changes in the young.  In a segment on CBS News, newscasters provided insight into research that had been conducted regarding how girls now treat each other. Since these shows highlight the drama and fights between women, girls now expect there to be large amounts of drama and bullying in their lives. Girls have been raised in a culture that has taught them to always remain cautious of other girls. Young teens believe that to gain respect you have to be mean. The message is that it is in our nature to be catty and petty. The crazy and loud girls are the popular girls and the ones who get their way. The Real Housewives features women being at odds with each other and arguing to the point of tears. The “mean girl syndrome” has affected the young drastically with 70% of young girls thinking it is acceptable to treat others badly. Their perception on how to act towards each other has been completely skewed by these shows (“Do Reality Shows make Teen Girls ‘mean girls’?”).

If you turn on the TV, you are more than likely to see a fist-pumping beachgoer, someone singing for a million dollars, or someone trying to survive on an island. An expert of entertainment from Elite Daily explains that as a society we have become less intelligent. The irrelevant material we fill our brains with is taking a toll on our knowledge and behavior. The writer, Colby Eis, believes that the television is at its peak of stupidity. Reality stars have enough impact today to influence another person’s behavior. Therefore, watching someone do dumb things on TV can make you do dumb things. Whether Khloe Kardashian is cursing at her mother or the mothers of Dance Moms are spreading rumors, viewers are gaining no benefits. Most of the shows do not teach any lessons or have valuable content that can have a positive impact in a person’s life. The guilty pleasure sucks you in with the garbage it displays. The people who are productive or rational are considered boring, creating the need for more pointless material. If a character is not kissing or hitting someone they are not worthy of attention. Eis believes we should find something more beneficial to do with our time before our brains turn to mush. Before you watch eight hours of 16 and Pregnant think about what information you’re really gaining. (Eis).

One of the major problems people have with reality TV is the small amount of real situations that take place. Reality TV is notorious for being less than reality with few stars admitting to fake scenes. The Bethenny Frankel Talk Show featured a segment with two reality stars as the guests. The two former stars from the show The Hills explained their experiences while on the show. They noted how the producers would specifically edit scenes to make someone look like a villain or elicit a certain reaction. By the later seasons, many of the shows were scripted. They would participate in fake fights and even told to fake a relationship with someone. They recalled a filming day when the director would not let them leave the set until two girls had an argument. Their personal accounts shed light on the reality that the shows are largely fabricated and contrived. This creates false realities in people’s minds. It is possible to develop ideas from these shows on what being successful should look like. The shows can create a stereotype of the “perfect” party, relationship or life (Frankel).

Social norms in our society have changed dramatically recently. We have become a desensitized culture that finds enjoyment from the suffering of others. We have a tendency to care less about people’s feelings and find happiness from another’s humiliations. Reality television captures an “I do not care about anything” attitude and the lack of consequences people face for their behavior. Compared to all shows, reality TV displays much more aggressive behavior, foul language and a lack of respect. A video from a pop culture channel further emphasizes how much we enjoy seeing people suffer while believing it is normal to act this way. It referenced the controversial pictures of Iraqi inmates being tortured by American soldiers. It noted some reactions to the photos with laughter and indifference. Many people had no problem with the torture because it did not happen to them or to our country (“How Reality TV Desensitizes Us”).

Television has changed its nature over the years. It is no longer the place people go to find their information and see what is happening. The traditional form of trying to reach every type of viewer has been eliminated. TV writers’ goal is to now reach a specific demographic, rather than people’s shared values. They aim their show at the individual, not everyone. The switch has resulted to the main focus being on lifestyle shows, talk shows, and forms of reality TV (Lunt). The goal of TV writers is to make viewers believe the performance of the characters. Their job is to sell their emotion and sincerity to the audience. Viewers remember how people react and that keeps them interested. We can recall crocodile tears that followed after a break up or how exaggerated she was when she laid in bed for a week. Reality TV’s main reason for being successful is because of how the viewers take part in it (Ellis).

Because a large majority of reality shows have created problems for society, people automatically think they all are bad. Although it has contributed, it is not the full reason for the decay in society. There are shows that have been created to improve people’s lives and encourage others to take charge of their own. Shows like The Biggest Loser has empowered many people and given them opportunities to turn their life around. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is a show where people rebuild homes for less fortunate. It has improved some lives across the country. Duck Dynasty displays how an ordinary Christian family with good morals and positive messages can achieve recognition. The show is about a duck call business.  It does not focus on drama and luxury, but real family life in the south (Sullivan). Even though there are a few shows that have good messages, there is such an overwhelming amount of shows with bad content and damaging focuses. Because they are considered more entertaining, these shows have overtaken the reality TV genre and have become the most popular.

Reality TV, for some, can be considered the perfect way to get rid of stress and escape from problems. It helps us get away for a while and teaches that life does not need to be always serious. Having fun and enjoying your youth is important. As a society, we crave drama. These show are a way to laugh while getting your fill of drama. Viewers can find a good catfight or argument to laugh at with ease. However, because of the huge focus on drama and fighting our culture believes it is completely normal to yell, fight constantly, and react explosively. The article then talks about how reality television can make us feel better about ourselves and feel smarter. She writes, “So, next time you're feeling unintelligent, turn on an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. You'll feel like you graduated from Harvard” (Sullivan). However, because of the little knowledge viewers actually get from reality TV you are not smarter at all and just fooling yourself. Many shows preach about being fun and enjoying yourself. Sullivan writes, “They also remind us to never let life get too serious, because that's when you stop living. As Khloe Kardashian says, ‘You have your whole life to be old, but you only have a few years to be young’” (Sullivan). However, the shows have such a strong focus on partying and drinking in order to embrace their youth and have fun. We have the control to use these people as cautionary tales and learn from their mistakes. Unfortunately many people fail to do this and idealizes these people. (DeVolld) 

Whether you see reality TV as an intriguing experience or an irrelevant irritation, it seems to be here to stay. However, change is needed if we want the next generation to focus on more important things. Many opinions and studies help emphasize what reality television has done to girls and how girls think and act. We need to change how the youth views these shows and applies it to their lives. Parents need to take control of what their children are watching. More conversations about the seriousness of the effects need to be had between parents and children. Our society needs to take charge in helping girls with self-esteem issues and treating each other better. The only way to help this issue is to talk about it more and hopefully begin to turn away from the shows with bad role models and start promoting more good. Given the importance and impact of media and television on young people, the content being delivered is crucial. Since the majority of reality television focuses on being dramatic, it has resulted not in harmless drama, but in damage to society.
