Reality T.V.
Reality T.V. is a media gateway in which real people are continuously filmed to capture the conflict occurring in their every day lives. These T.V. programs are designed to be more entertaining rather than informative. Hundreds of reality T.V. programs are broadcasted each day, each of which usually attracts millions of viewers who watch these shows religiously. Since the early 2000s, these numerous viewers across the world have perceived acts of partying, sex and drama via reality television programs. These aggression-fueled shows have a negative effect on its viewers, especially those of younger in age. As a result, studies have shown that these reality television shows negatively impact the way young audiences think, act, view their self-image and portray their values and beliefs.
One show that exclusively caught the eye of many viewers was the Jersey Shore. This show was so beloved by its audience that it went on to have remakes of it in many different countries. From 2009 to 2012, viewers of all ages would tune in every week to watch eight young Italian-American adults as they struggled to live together under one roof. The show consisted of excessive profane language, binge drinking, incessant drama, sex scenes in the “smoosh room” and what is a successful reality show without good fist fights. For six seasons, one would witness each of these dramatic, hectic events in nearly every single episode. To any uninformed individual, especially someone of a younger age, he or she may not realize that these types of shows are strictly for entertainment purposes and may think that this is how typical people live their day-to-day lives. Bryan Gibson, a psychologist at Central Michigan University, conducted an experiment concluding that people are likely to become more aggressive in their everyday lives if they watch reality television shows that include relational aggression, which correlates with acts and signs of bullying, exclusion and manipulation in individuals. In his experiment, each participant watched one of three shows: Jersey Shore, an aggressive show; Little People Big World, an uplifting show; and CSI, a relatively neutral fictional crime drama. After watching, each individual was told that he or she was competing against others in a game to see who could hit a button fastest. As a reward, the participant that won would receive the chance to blow a loud horn into the ear of the losers, though everyone actually got a chance to blow the horn. Gibson’s study concluded that the test subjects that watched the more aggressive show, Jersey Shore, blew louder and longer noises than those that watched even the violent crime drama, CSI. This correlation seems to be legitimate because a show like Jersey Shore usually spends the majority of its filmed time showing vulgar and aggressive acts (NPR.org).
Constant viewing of reality T.V. can have a direct effect on the way individuals portray their values and beliefs, especially at a young age because of how observant we are and our tendencies to soak up everything we see and hear. While interviewing multiple people, one prominent question that I asked was, “What effect, if any, do you think reality television has on its viewers?” The one response that was most notable to me was that of my fifteen-year-old brother, Dylan Henderson, who is currently a sophomore at Cartersville High School. “I do not watch reality television myself, but I have seen how some of my friends that I grew up with have truly been affected by it… (Henderson)”. He went on to explain how one show in particular, Love and Hip Hop – Atlanta, is very popular at his school. Love and Hip Hop – Atlanta is a show that exploits the lives of performers and producers on the various levels of the Atlanta music industry. Some of the individuals featured on the show have an ample amount of experience and others have not so much, but they all seem to have the same rich, snobbish attitudes and mindsets that reveal their own personal portrayal of superiority to any and every other being. Dylan continued to explain the way that some girls have acquired bad attitudes similar to the female starts of the show and how ludicrous it is to him the extent these girls go to just to try and imitate them. As for the males at his school, Dylan revealed the fact that many males at his school have taken on new “superstar personas”. “There are some guys at my school that act like they have a million dollars already with egos through the roof and don’t have to worry about school (Henderson)”. These young teens are seeing these rappers and producers living extravagant lives and proceeding to act any way they wish for the cameras, regardless of if this is or isn’t actually occurring behind the scenes, and as a result, are feel as if they can act the same way. As one might see, there is a very distinct connection between what is portrayed on the television and the effect I has on the values, beliefs and actions of young adults that watch these shows.
Another reality television show that has been impactful is The Swan, which was derived from the fairytale, The Ugly Duckling. This show, based on plastic surgery, would transform the life of one lucky contestant through a full-body and mind makeover. The individual was assigned a trainer, coach, therapist, dentist and cosmetic surgeon. Initially, the show exhibited a relatively normal woman performing her day-to-day life activities when you begin to notice that she is extremely unhappy with the body that she was given. After the surgery, the show goes on to reveal the woman’s new body, which is completely different than her original appearance. As beautiful as the woman might have become, you can feasibly tell that her body is wholly unnatural. Of The Swan’s millions of viewers, one can assume that most females did not have bodies that could be compared in appearance to that of the contestant featured on the show, which is in no way negative because the majority of women were not bodies like that. In a sense, this show broadcasted that being the “ugly duckling” is unacceptable and one must cosmetically change her appearance just to have a meaningful life. In his book, Empire of Illusion, Journalist Chris Hedges claimed this show was the “most sadistic reality series of the decade (MGHClayCenter.org)”. Each day, women are forced to cope with this sort of mental abuse just because of their physical appearance. Some even go to lengths of personally beating themselves up about their bodies because society and the media have convinced them that they have something to be ashamed of. Television programs such as these are devastating to those who may have already felt this way by pushing them to go to extensive corrective lengths and those who may not might begin questioning the true acceptance of their body and appearance.
Conclusively, the negative effects reality television shows have on society as a whole is shown through the actions and beliefs of the people that watch it. As Dr. Gibson concluded in his experiment of relational aggression, “these findings are not a reason to censor what television content makes it on air (NPR.org)”. He explains that being cautious in what we allow the youth to watch and educating viewers that reality T.V. is merely entertainment is the best way to combat these negative thoughts, actions, values and beliefs.