Getting Real About Reality TV

With the advent of all the reality T.V. shows, such as "Jersey Shore", "Sixteen and Pregnant", "Keeping up with the Kardashian's" and others, it can make a person wonder if that is truly reality and the state our society is in today. No one can deny the dangers of reality T.V. to its participants in the wake of news reports of more than eleven suicides by 2009 by reality TV contestants. But is it also harmful to the viewers? Reality T.V. emphasizes the outrageous, disturbing, and atypical lifestyles of a select few individuals. To show ordinary families on reality television would be a ratings disaster -- so remember first why television exists -- to gain high viewer ratings in order to earn money for its shareholders via advertising. Adults can usually deal with the spectacle on television because they have experience enough to realize that not everyone behaves the way the participants on television are behaving with their out of control sex lives, anger issues, and obvious lack of social decorum -- but there is a danger to allowing children to watch such material. Since they know it is real, they might believe that this is a normal example of a way to behave. If you allow your children to watch these shows, at least use them as an example of how not to behave and also explain how some parts of these shows are scripted. If not scripted, they are highly edited taking out of context the most dramatic actions and behaviors. Not all reality television is harmful; many of the contest shows or goal oriented shows can teach the viewers about sticking to something even when it is hard. However, there are more fruitful ways to teach children about reality by helping them examine their own lives and actions instead of others. After all, who will suffer the consequences of their poor behavior or reap the rewards of behaving properly? They will. However, even then the show is not reality, nor a good indication of how reality plays out in real life. The proof is shown when the true best singer is not picked, but rather the winner is picked by a popularity vote regardless of talent. Winning a contest like this does not make one a success. By making sure to realize that and point that out to young observers, it can prevent children and teenagers from creating role models out of undeserving participants.