Effects of Reality Television on Families and Social Interactions

This essay delves into the multifaceted effects of reality television on families and their social lives. It begins by defining reality television and its widespread appeal, noting its addictive nature for viewers of all ages. The essay then explores the negative consequences, including the potential for children to link happiness with superficial values like wealth and beauty, and the promotion of undesirable behaviors. It highlights how the edited and manipulated content of these shows can distort viewers' perceptions of reality, leading to family conflict and a decline in critical thinking. The author also provides suggestions for mitigating these effects, such as parental guidance and media regulation. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of drawing a clear distinction between reality and fiction to create meaningful interpretations of life.

Running head: THE EFFECTS OF REALITY TELEVISION ON FAMILIES 1
The Effects of Reality Television on Families and Social Life
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Introduction
While Reality Television Shows can be unhealthy for the participants, they are even more
consequential to the viewers. This genre in television programming is highly addictive to the
family members of all ages. Reality television refers to modern popular programs which
showcase contestants appearing as themselves in certain contexts. Most of these programs are
centered on competition, and others feature how celebrity figures carry on their daily lives. The
main focus of these shows is to entertain, show personal conflict and drama without necessarily
educating the audience. Typically, people either have an undying love or extreme hate for reality
television. Over 50 percent of television viewers watch reality shows (Weiland & Dunbar, 2016).
Generally, reality television does not add any value to the viewer's lives, and it is thus a complete
waste of time.
Reality television shows do not show any reality but rather strings of edited content and
manipulated characters to bring out the desired theme effectively (Ferrucci, Tandoc, & Duffy,
2014). Many families tend to believe that whatever is featured is a real reflection of what really
happens. Some youngsters have even taken it as far as choosing the reality television stars to be
part of their future career goals. Mike Fleiss, an executive producer, one revealed that an
estimate of 80 percent of what is featured in the shows is fake (Campbell, 2018). This implies
that most of the content is not real, but it is loosely scripted, salted and planted in order to appear
more shocking or interesting. The shows are simply a feature of "structured reality" depicting a
special environment and self-improvement/enhancement of the characters. The families that take
this as grave truth end up believing that they are not living up to the bar or the set standards.
The children who watch the reality television shows constantly suffer negative effects from the
content displayed (Hall, 2013). Basically, the children who watch reality shows, are much likely

THE EFFECTS OF REALITY TELEVISION ON FAMILIES 3
to link happiness with factors such as wealth, beauty and celebrity status (Narang, 2012).
Factually, these are the values that many characters in reality television hold in high esteem. This
lowers the esteem of the children and perhaps get a feeling of inferiority. In some other incidents,
the characters display rowdy, dangerous and disgusting behavior. The children may get inspired
to duplicate these acts.
The parents in the homesteads that reality televisions the order of the day usually end up
in undesirable circumstances in struggling to convince their children that there is a lot more that
matters in life (Bliss, 2017). The children are socialized by the shows to believe that there is
nothing to strive for but only beauty, wealth and popularity. While these values are generally
likable to everyone, there is much beyond them. These values do not always translate to
happiness as the kids may think. The parents in such cases may not be able to persuade the
children that happiness is all about choices as they have already been cultured differently.
Television reality shows just like any other program are highly addictive and may at
times cause the family bonds to disentangle (Reysen & Katzarska-Miller, 2017). Some
individuals may turn naïve of their environment. The reality shows, especially the ones which
feature celebrities garner a lot of approval from the masses. As a result, some families may be
hooked for hours watching such shows. This causes the family relationships to diminish and
weakens the personal links as well. These shows not only prove to be good alternatives for
interactions and conversations but also tend to breach the boundary between reality and fiction.
Critically, television shows should be used as tools of education. Traditionally,
televisions were supposed to feature wonderful documentaries aimed to impart knowledge to the
audience (Moy, 2015). All the programs that were presented were highly educative including the
soap operas with a huge fan base. Surprisingly, a genre presenting fake reality has been able to

THE EFFECTS OF REALITY TELEVISION ON FAMILIES 4
find a competitive market even with the availability of all the traditional programs. Reality
television hardly stimulates the viewer to think critically. Primarily, reality television is much
more like a tool of “dumbing down” the viewers. The viewers have simply nothing to deliberate
on apart from the lavish lifestyles and uncouth behavior featured in the shows even after having
invested so much time on the programs.
It is much obvious that something ought to be done against the reality television shows
before they cause more harm to families and on the broader social life. Firstly, parents have to
act as role models. Needless to say, a parent should be the last person sitting on a couch to view a
reality show with children. Most parents already know that some of these programs breed
undesirable behaviors and are not worth to be watched. They should thus focus on placing a limit
on the extent to which their kids have exposure to reality shows (Bliss, 2017). They should
explain and make their children understand that these shows are no real in any dimension. This
stipulation should go much further to set boundaries on the acceptable behavior. A balanced
view should always be sought and maintained on what to watch and what is important.
The filming boards also have a role to play in regulating what finds its way to television
programming. Any program should be evaluated and scrutinized adequately before it is allowed
to air on television. These boards should always have a say in approving socially acceptable
shows. The boards should act as a moral lens filtering the shows in the television industry.
Reality television shows are too deceptive, misleading, materialistic and fraudulent to find a
place in family televisions.

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Conclusion
Reality shows are highly controversial and not only abuse the cultural and traditional
values of our countries but also work hard to deconstruct the future negatively. Apparently, these
shows are not leaving the industry any soon. As much as banning the shows is an ideal way of
curbing their influence, parental guidance will hell help a great deal in the case of the young
generation. A line should always be drawn between reality and fiction not only in a family but
also within social settings. This will help in the creation of meaningful interpretations of reality
and life.

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References
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Livestrong.com: https://www.livestrong.com/article/228953-impact-of-reality-shows-on-
children/
Campbell, L. (2018, March 14). Reality TV Can Be Unhealthy for Participants as Well as
Viewers. Retrieved from Healthline Media:
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/reality-tv-unhealthy-for-participants-and-
viewers#1
Ferrucci, P., Tandoc, E. C., & Duffy, M. E. (2014). Modeling Reality: The Connection Between
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Hall, A. (2013). Perceptions of the Authenticity of Reality Programs and Their Relationships to
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Moy, T. Y. (2015). Reality Television or Television Reality Shows: Forms. Global Educational
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Narang, D. (2012, July 15). The Resonating Effects Of The Reality Shows- How They Influence
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Reysen, S., & Katzarska-Miller, I. (2017). Association Between Reality Television and
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