“Upon deeper reflection, I think I now know why I hate reality TV; because I feel – actually, I know – that it’s a scam being perpetrated right in front of me, and the victims are both the participants and the viewers. Reality TV is not real; everything is heavily pre-determined. Before any participant appears in their first frame, whole crews have been briefed to type-cast so they can shoot and later edit these poor saps into a train-wreck television scenario. Reality Television is a genre of television programs that depicts the lives of ordinary people experiencing real world situations designed for entertainment purposes. This day and age, society is infatuated with reality tv, and it is taking over our perceptions of reality.With that being said, reality tv shows,excluding shows such as animal plant, the travel channel,and american idol and anything within that field, should be banned due to a false representation of reality and its influences on society in a negative manner by causing people to value materialistic things, an increase in violence like bullying , and by rewarding bad behavior/morality; it also affects the lives of the reality stars themselves mainly by causing emotional stress upon them such as breakdowns, suicides, and the demolish of relationships. Society is fixated with these viral distractions, because it portrays a lifestyle they aspire to have or are not used to seeing on a daily basis and they live vicariously through these reality stars not knowing majority of the shows are scripted or edited.
Reality television has a negative connotation on society and one of them is the acceptance of bad behavior/violence. With shows like The Real World, bad girls club, and the love and hip-hop that exploit women in a negative manner through engaging in violent acts and the overwhelming use of profanity, it sets a platform for young women that this bad behavior is the answer for most situation. According to Girl Scouts.com, via their blog, it states that “The study found that the vast majority of girls think reality shows "often pit girls against each other to make the shows more exciting" 86 %. When comparing the propensity for relational aggression between viewers and non-viewers of reality TV, 78 percent vs. 54 percent state that "gossiping is a normal part of a relationship between girls; The study also found that young girls are increasingly being influenced by different forms of media, such as reality television, which can glorify cattiness and bullying.”(gs blog); Also ABC news states that “The Kardashian sisters are no strangers to violence either. On their other past reality show, "Kourtney and Kim Take New York," Scott Disick, Kourtney Kardashian's boyfriend and father of their young son Mason, was shown on camera getting into an alcohol-fueled fight at a nightclub. It led to the show's highest ratings These facts subject how the act of violence plays a key role in reality tv that catches the audience’s attention , thus leading the younger generation to become more susceptible to volatile and aggressive behaviors.
Many reality shows display lavish lifestyles that infatuate young adults to where they believe that these extravagant ways of life are easy to come by. For Example, the Massachusetts general hospital center suggests that, “Other common values perpetuated by reality TV include materialism, and an idealization of a hard-partying and “celebrity” lifestyle without regard for consequences. Both Rich Kids of Beverly Hills and Shahs of Sunset feature the lives of privileged young adults living in southern California. They take extravagant trips, wear designer clothes, spend a lot of money on alcohol-fueled parties, and are rarely seen working regular jobs. The cast of The Jersey Shore spends an entire summer binge drinking to excess, participating in risky sexual behavior, engaging in physical altercations, and even being arrested. Despite their obvious poor behavior and decision-making, their popularity continues to grow.For anyone who has seen the 2013 movie The Bling Ring, this is an extreme example of how emulation of the celebrity and reality TV lifestyle can cause issues in teens. The movie is based on the true story of a group of teenagers in southern California who were responsible for the “Hollywood Hills robberies,” in which they robbed the homes of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Audrina Patridge and several other celebrities. The teens idealized the party and high-fashion lifestyle that is often featured in gossip magazines and reality TV, and subsequently robbed the homes of celebrities to fuel this lifestyle. Although this is an extreme case, it does demonstrate the ability of this type of media to influence the values placed on materialism and excessive partying. With this, many reality shows affect a person’s way of life with them unconsciously knowing , because the viewers are blinded and infatuated with these lifestyles which could even lead to certain economic insecurities. Audience members see these habits and aspire to have it themselves and may feel discouraged when they don’t acquire the lifestyle they perceive to be “the perfect life.”
In the jist of reality television, people need to come to the actually that it’s just television where people’s lives are over exploited for entertainment purposes only and aren't there to purposely portray a negative lifestyle. Reality television shows should be realized negative and maybe not banned, but that the are a TV show because it plays a major part in our viewing culture and influences many lives especially females of the younger generation.
