The Impact Of Reality TV

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background of the Issue

Reality TV is a show that takes ordinary people and places them in specific situations to see how they react. It is portrayed as a harmless form of entertainment, but the harm (which is done so subtly) is powerful. The concept of the show was to put hidden cameras in unexpected places and position people in baffling situations, watching their reactions (Elliot, cited in Thomas). “It's been said that circumstances don't make a man they only reveal him”. Likewise, reality TV is simply a reflection of what our society has become, an ambitious society where the love of power and money dominates. Reality televisions’ main priority is making people feel good, rather than be good. “With the ever-changing landscape of television programming, reality television has become increasingly popular, especially among the pre-teen and teen audiences, which assumes that television has the ability to influence the attitudes and perceptions of its viewers” (Geela, 2010).

Allen Funt started with the series Candid Camera in 1948; the impact of heavy television viewing and its effect on young viewers has been a major topic since the 1960s (Mullings, 2012). “Reality TV is defined as, non-fictional programming in which portrayal is believed to be present or historical events”. It is an unscripted program with no employed actors. Statistics recorded by Howard (N.D), have shown that people spend 1/3 of their time watching television and of that 67% are reality television shows and more in depth research showed that reality television episodes have increased to 57% of all television shows. The main reasons why reality shows are multiplying are the cost of the shows. Producers realize that reality stars are chea...

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...ng teenagers as they emulate this methods in order to achieve the ideal body (Borrell, 2011). According to Croll (2010), the mentality of teenagers about their body image has been distorted at a very young age, as her research shows 13 year old girls who believe that weight control is strongly associated with self worth and dieting as a means of improving self worth. Also approximately 30% boys and over 55% girls are using unhealthy weight control methods such as vomiting, use of laxatives, binge and purge and diuretics in an effort to lose weight.

3.0 Conclusion

In conclusion, reality TV shows are consistently growing and the contents of these shows do more harm than good. From the discussion above teenagers are vulnerable and easily influenced by the messages portrayed on these shows thus, the disadvantages of reality TV shows very much outweigh the advantages.