The Drawbacks of Watching Reality Shows on TV Essay Example

Just one more episode, I think to myself after finishing another episode of “Keeping up with the Kardashians.” It quickly escalates into finishing the whole season without even starting my homework. Reality TV is like giving a baby a treat. Once you give it to him, he’ll always want more. Reality TV hooks viewers on their favorite celebrity’s life and gives them all the gossip. Reality TV is not beneficial to    society because it creates a fake lifestyle, humiliates its participants for entertainment, and is addictive. 

First of all, reality TV exposes viewers to a fake reality; therefore it is not beneficial to society. Most producers of reality TV shows plan dramatic fights and vacations in advance. For example, in “Keeping up with the Kardashians” the producers overdramatize what Chloe told Kylie, and make it seem offensive, when it was just a harmless statement. This tactic shows that everything is not as it seems on reality TV, and the reader should not believe the fake reality they are exposed to. Sabrina Giancioppi states, “In a less obvious way reality TV makes the far-fetched lives of the rich into something attainable, and even more expected.” Reality TV leads people into thinking that living rich or spoiled is something of an average lifestyle that we should live by.

An average lifestyle will never be like this, as people need to work on the daily and can’t afford to take these vacations. It raises the expectations of the viewers because they think their lives need to match the show. I remember a time when my friend and I were watching “Keeping up with the Kardashians.” We automatically wanted their fancy lives on vacations and trips for free. My friend became jealous and wouldn’t stop talking about how we will go on these vacations when we grow up. Even though people say that reality TV is not scripted and all real, I disagree because producers tell the actors what to say to each other, and then turn the statements into insults causing the dramatic fights we witness while watching reality TV. 

Furthermore, since reality humiliates its participants, it is not helpful towards society. Producers of reality TV create instances where they embarrass the participants just for the resulting gossip. Dramatic fights and scandals are just two ways reality TV can ruin someone’s reputation. What I mean by dramatic fights is when producers make one character’s harmless statement into a big deal, making them seem evil, and making the other character seem offended. This can turn everyone against them, ruining their reputation for good. Laura Buchanan explains, “Reality TV is like another dramatized TV show that draws the line between actor and person.”

Reality TV is dramatized and does not show the audience the character’s real personalities, therefore making them like an actor. People deserve to be viewed upon as real people, and not through drama they had no control over. This negative viewpoint can also take away any other work opportunities because participants may be viewed upon as hated people, and not hired by anyone else. The other side claims that reality TV gives participants good pay and a wealthy life, but if the purpose is to find ways to make characters fight amongst themselves and embarrass them, the money is not worth losing your reputation for.