Reality Television

Blog #3

            In my case I don’t have much time to watch television, but when I do, yes I enjoy watching some reality television shows. When I say some I say it because most reality TV shows now are for example like Jersey Shore. Jersey Shore is nothing but partying, drinking, sex, drama. I’m not going to say I didn’t enjoy watching it once in awhile because I did enjoy it at times. It was entertaining in a way yet stupid at the same time. There are other reality shows however, that I enjoy watching like The Hills, Project Runways, and Teen Mom. The reason I enjoy these is because even though they involve “drama”, they are also what in my eyes I call “real”. These reality television shows show the real struggles people in them go through, not just party and drink everyday and night. In ‘The Hills’ Lauren the main character goes to FIDM in pursuit of her dream to become a fashion designer while dealing with issues in her life that involve her friends. Project Runway is a reality TV show about people designing clothes and competing with each other. Now, many people dislike “Teen Mom” and I can see why, but in my case I enjoy watching it. To me it isn’t a show that encourages girls to get pregnant or that it is a luxury because it shows the real struggles these girls go through. When I started watching Teen Mom it actually made me NOT want to have children anytime soon. Seeing the girls go through heartbreaks because the guy didn’t want to be with them or vise versa, having them get kicked out and deal with money issues, struggling with school, all of that was enough for me to see how hard it was to raise and have a baby. That is the reason why I see these Shows as Real Reality TV shows and not just a “reality show” where you get paid to be in a house with other people to party, go out, and drink.

            Reality TV shows are in my view divided in those two categories; the real Reality TV shows and the ones for “entertainment.” I can’t say that I agree all Reality TV shows are harming our society because I’d be lying. I actually believe some do benefit our society like Teen Mom to show people how hard it is to raise a baby, especially at such a young age. Other ones are Reality TV shows like Project Runway, The Voice, etc. shows where people with the same passion compete to make their dream come true. However, Jersey Shore and shows like the Real World in my opinion are harming our society in a way that it teaches children/teens nothing but how fun it is to party. These so called Reality TV show go to the extremes of making things like sex and drinking look “cool”.