Reality TV is Overrated
February 16, 2021
Reality TV. Something we all can guiltily confess to have watching (bingeing, don’t lie to yourself) on multiple occasions. Reality TV is something that many spend time watching every day. Making time out of their busy lives to watch someone else’s. Wishing and praying to one day be like them without realizing that no one can be like them. You know why? None of it is real. Dun dun duh. Some of your worlds may have just ended, but let’s just get to the stone cold truth. All those shows that we call “reality” are a big fat lie.
Now to begin, you may be wondering what gives me the right to state my opinion. Well, let me explain. If you are between the ages of 0 and 117, this pertains to you because most of you have access to some source that has these shows. I fall right into the age group of the highest group of users in the topic of watching reality TV. I am part of the society today that consumes excessive amounts of this. I personally have had friends who had get togethers simply to get lost in The Bachelor. Once a week they would all get together and drool over Matt James and his beautiful brown eyes. It was very concerning to watch. My sister is someone who is obsessed with Keeping up With the Kardashians and Dance Moms. I am not kidding when I say there was one day her screen time was eight hours all of which was spent on Netflix and Youtube watching these shows. If this isn’t enough, I myself have also disappointingly taken time out of my day to watch these shows. I can just say right now that these programs are so overrated and very unhealthy for us.
For starters, these shows are terrible for our mental health and they are an embarrassment to our intelligence as humans. The amount of drama and unsettling events are disturbing. I can say that days my sister watches these shows she is increasingly more dramatic and causes more fights, and I’m not kidding. Anyone that watches these shows is watching people who seem a million times more attractive and successful than the average American, and it is very false. Under the ten pounds of makeup, they are just the same everyday people that we are, but many people can not see that. Depression rates increase when watching shows like this, longing to be in other’s lives so we just consume ourselves in their shows. It is very unhealthy and dangerous especially to the developing mind.
These shows also teach young kids terrible life habits. A major one that stems from these types of shows is the feeling that we are entitled to peep and peer into other’s lives. We watch shows and don’t realize how similar we become to stalking. Constantly interested in every little move a reality star is making, not realizing how obsessed we have become. We are also watching and finding enjoyment out of people’s shallow personalities and cares in life. Watching shows where Kim Kardashian cries about a lost earring or not having her nails done teaches us poor morals. We lose touch with what is important in life. In order to keep these beliefs in order we must stray away from shows like this. Here is where it gets even worse. These shows teach us about abuse and unhealthy relationships. We see men physically abusing women and women undermining men. It is very deceiving to the young mind.
Now I may not be an expert in this area, but I do know that I have seen the sad outcomes from shows like this and almost fallen victim to it myself. Reality TV shows are way overrated because we give them too much liking without seeing the health effects that are in plain sight. Obsession and abuse is not something we strive to achieve, so why watch it on TV? By watching it we are applauding and promoting poor behavior when really we should be working to put an end to it. Reality TV is not anyone’s reality. The reality is that we are not safe when it comes to watching reality TV, and it is given way too much credit.
