Reality Television

Reality: real or unreal?

                         Reality Television is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. It's easy to see how the drama easily draws viewers in. It's also obvious that people are greatly influenced and affected by this genre of t.v. Teen Mom has some good points and intentions. It is a great way for other young teens to see the challenges and sacrifices required to be a parent. However, it also showcases young people being irresponsible and getting a lot of attention. This can easily turn into a message to teens that it's not only ok to be pregnant at 16, it's cool. A lot of people on the show still go out and party, leaving other people (grandparents, friends and other family) in charge of the kid. A lot of times, there are much more associated problems in the relationships due mostly to the age of the couple facing extremely important and difficult circumstances. I'm sure that being on the show will have a huge impact on the children's lives. Imagine your most intimate moments of infancy captured on camera and broadcasted without your awareness or consent. Most people don't like to share their baby photos and these kids now have a baby tv series.

               

               Jersey Shore did nothing but teach others that it's cool to be shallow, have no goals in life and party without consideration for anyone else. The show is almost nothing but people constantly fighting, lying, cheating, and being shitty people in general. And now they're famous. What the fuck? Is this really how people are or should be? If this is reality, I'm happy to live in fantasy. These people are portrayed as "Rock Stars" and celebrities. Most people say they watch the show because of how stupid the people are, but the bottom line is, they're still watching the show and those stupid people are just getting more money and encouragement to do what they're doing. 

               Of course, no generalization is absolute. I do think, however, that there are some obvious trends of influence with reality tv and society. Although teen pregnancy rates are down in the U.S., we still have the highest teen pregnancy rate of the entire industrialized western world. I'm pretty sure that the only reason that non-industrialized areas have higher rates is because of child slavery/trafficking common in impoverished and underdeveloped areas. Although Teen mom probably reflects the alarming rate of teen pregnancy, it certainly also glamorizes it. It's like reality tv takes a small percentage of people with "real" problems and commercializes them into mainstream, everyday occurrences. There's also the factor of elevation that i'm sure will be taking effect within the next five years. What are people going to have to do now to get a reality tv show? I'm sure we're gonna be seeing some crazy-ass people very soon. (moreso than the crazies on tv now) Frightening.