There is a big hype and demand these days for the so-called “Reality
Television”. I personally do not understand what the big demand is for what I
consider to be non-entertainment television. I do agree that not all “Reality
Television” shows are negative or misleading to the general audience, but so
many of them portray sexually aggressive and violent behaviors to be the norm in
society.
It is
these explicit and controversial reality television shows which I am going to
focus on in this assignment for my Humanities 101 class assignment. First off, I
feel that television is used too much in day to day life as is, then when you
add in shows of large groups of immature strangers living together in one house,
a dozen or two of women or men competing with each other to be with that so
called “Perfect Person”, or shows about girls striving and going to extremes to
be “The Next Top Model”; the negative
effects of television on viewers today grows more as each of these shows is
released to be viewed by us Americans.
What is
it that shows like these are teaching the viewers who tune in on a weekly and
sometimes daily basis to watch their favorite “Instant Celebrities” fight
through their own personal issues of life? I believe that these shows have more
of an effect on the youth population than the adult population who watches
them. Studies over the past couple of decades have shown the negative effects
of television in general to its young viewers. Even if the television show isn’t
directed towards the younger viewers, many of them appear to be directed
towards the female population from their late teens to mid-30s, which also is
when a majority of the American population of women become mothers and have
young children roaming around their homes, possibly being exposed to these television
shows more than what the mothers may know.
According
to the article http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html
produced by Kidshealth.com, The first 2 years of life are considered a critical
time for brain development. TV and other electronic media can get in the
way of exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others, which
encourages learning and healthy physical and social development. So if
one of the parents or siblings is sitting around the house with a young child
who is present, what is it that the young child is learning from these
television shows even if they don’t completely understand the concept and
meaning of the show?
Studies
and real life tragedy events have shown that many of these television shows
have also played negative roles in the lives of older viewers. An example of
this is: On October 15, 2009 near the town of Fort Collins, Colorado when a
homemade weather balloon was released into the sky from a family’s personal
residence, initial reports from the two adult family members of the household
reported that their six year old son was believed to be playing inside of the
homemade balloon prior to it lifting off of the ground and traveling more than
50 miles across three Colorado counties at elevations of 7,000 feet above
ground level.
The above
incident drew worldwide attention by being broadcasted live by media networks
around the globe. Once the balloon finally fell to the ground, it was quickly
searched by emergency response personnel who had responded to the distress call
about the possibility of the young boy being inside of the balloon. The search
results turned up to be negative for finding the young boy inside of the
balloon. At this time, horrifying speculations began to emerge about the possibility
of the young child falling out of the balloon some time during its flight
thousands of feet above the Colorado countryside. It was later discovered that
the young boy had been hiding inside of the attic at his family’s house where
the balloon had originally departed from. The child later stated to his father
on a live television interview regarding why the boy was hiding in the attic of
their house, "You guys said that, um, we did this for the show."
It was
at this time that previous suspicious of a hoax, that the event became proven
to be a publicity stunt engineered by the boy's parents. The boy’s father later
admitted that he thought of the hoax in hopes of being offered a role on a “Reality
Television” show to become popular.
According
to the article http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/10/17/11/mean-girls-us-study-casts-light-reality-tvs-impact
released in October of 2011, a nationwide survey by the research wing of the Girl
Scouts of the United States found that girls who regularly watch reality
television expect -- and accept -- more bullying and drama in their lives. These
are just two of the countless examples I have found online of evidence on the
negative effects of “Reality Television” its viewers.
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