One vice that I cannot get away from, even if I tried, is my love for reality television. To me, the culture phenomenon that is reality television is a big defining characteristic of my generation. I can even remember when the first survivor came out when I was in grade school. It was something that my family all got together to watch and was a very positive experience. I feel like Survivor, Real World, and The Osborne’s marked the beginning of reality television and it hasn’t seemed to slow down since. I know there are a lot of intellectuals out there that think that reality T.V. is trashy and cannot stand where television is going these days. Although, I kind of agree with this haughty point of view, I cannot deny that reality T.V. is entertaining and I’m sure the ratings would agree.
Now I am not someone that goes crazy watching every reality show out there. I would say I watch a pretty wide variety of different television shows from educational to sitcoms. However, I do enjoy my shows like: The Bachelor, Teen Mom, Real World, etc. Not only are these shows addicting, but they also are talked about all the time because if you’re on a reality show you basically become a celebrity. These regular people begin to appear on the news, award shows, and game shows, write books, etc. When I get into a show, I make sure I watch every episode and I almost feel as if I am part of a community for watching it because it becomes something I can talk about with my friends and family.
Some shows become so engrained in our culture that you almost feel left out if you don’t watch the show. One show that I had the experience with is The Jersey Show. I told myself I wouldn’t watch this obnoxious show, until everyone I knew was watching it. They would all talk about it and I would have no clue as to what was going on. Now I love the show and it’s crazy to me how entertaining watching regular people just party and hangout can be. However, it has become a huge phenomenon in pop culture, especially on college campuses. I can’t go a day without seeing a commercial featuring a reality star or a jersey shore inspired saying or dance move.
I know that to those not intrigued by reality television, the constant buzz and airtime of these shows must be irritating. However, I can say with full confidence that reality television is here to stay. It’s just too entertaining!
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