Will Reality TV Ruin Society?

Everyone watches reality TV shows for the basic purpose of entertainment, right? There has been a controversial debate about whether or not entertainment, such as reality shows, will “ruin” society. Neal Gabler wrote a book titled Life the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality stating that yes, society will indeed ruin society and I agree with this statement. Most of the reality TV programs on the air promote bad behavior and untrue stereotypes. Skins is a reality show based mainly off of stereotypes. 16 & Pregnant falsely projects the idea of what teen motherhood is really like. Jersey Shore completely promotes ghastly behavior, appalling habits, and an inappropriate image of what America is like. On the other hand, some reality shows promote a good message to society. Shows like American Idol, America’s Got Talent, and X Factor are prime examples of a good quality reality TV show that is strictly fun and full of entertainment. These programs allow kids and adults alike the opportunity to reach their dreams if their dreams happen to be worldwide super-stardom. And who doesn’t dream of being famous every once and awhile? Shows like the ones mentioned above enable people to chase that dream. But, most shows aren’t that great. The majority of the total percent of the reality shows on the air promote some type of bad message. When Skins the British-born show, was translated to American audiences, the controversy was raging before an episode emerged. American teenagers were being stereotyped as people who cuss all the time and the only things they care about are partying, relationships, and heartbreak. This makes America’s future generation look like it will be filled with illiterate people who have unstable love lives. And another thing, this TV show, depicts teenagers in the United States as sex-crazed and drug-addicted. People visiting from other countries expect to find underage drug dealers and underage prostitutes at every street corner in America when they come here for vacation. That is not the image most teens want to be seen as. But thanks to TV programs, like Skins, we are viewed that way.

Another example of a reality show that wrongly represents America’s youth is 16 & Pregnant. This program is basically about teenage girls getting knocked up by their boyfriends and is then being paid to be filmed and have their story be put on television. This puts the idea of having sex, getting pregnant and making money in every teenage girl’s mind who watches this series. Foreigners watching 16 & Pregnant get the impression that the female teenagers in America all want to be baby mommas before the age of 20. Thus, giving America an even worse reputation. This series also makes out being pregnant at sixteen years old is the thing to be if you want to be popular. So now, there is the peer pressure factor for girls aged 14-19 to have sex to be considered “cool”. Most girls will do anything to be popular even if it consists of them giving up their childhood to raise a child. Shows like, 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom, need to be terminated before every teenage girl is walking around, expecting a baby. The show that is the best at advertising bad behavior and habits is the MTV’s booze-and-dramathon Jersey Shore. The television show is most often used as evidence that America is about to incinerate into a blazing Babylon. It has been criticized for irresponsible alcoholism and unjustifiable sluttiness. Snooki, one of the main people of the show, parades around in clothing that barely covers her chest and backside, she starts to drink alcoholic beverages from the moment she wakes up to the moment she gets into bed at night. This woman makes it seem like its okay to act in this manner because she’s on TV and people believe that everything you see on television is the norm and if you don’t act that way, you’re a freak. Jersey Shore is also blamed for the dumbing-down of culture and society. The people in this series support the idea that you just need to be attractive to make a living. So, the viewers start to think this way also and they begin to let their education slip and focus on their external appearance instead of their internal intelligence. This program needs to be cancelled immediately for the sake of America’s future generations.
In conclusion, entertainment, but mainly reality TV, will ruin our society. We have shows about stereotypical American teenagers, pregnant teenagers, and a show that makes America appear to be a bunch of uneducated human beings who only care about appearances and material objects. Skins, 16 & Pregnant, and Jersey Shore are just a few of the reality TV series that give America a horrific reputation and give teenagers watching the show, a terrible idea of what they should act like. This statement needs to be repeated: These shows and other shows like them NEED to be cancelled for the sake of our country’s reputation and so that teenagers won’t be pressured to act a certain way to be referred to as “cool” or “popular”.