How Does Reality Tv Affect Society

After a long day’s work, we come home looking forward to our favorite TV show. For some it may be The Middle, Downton Abbey, or even Keeping Up with the Kardashians; all of these shows have changed the way we act and treat one another. One day we are the Lady Mary of Michigan and the next we are Kim Kardashian. Throughout the years we have gone from scripted comedies to more and more reality TV shows. One of the first reality TV shows that started it all for us was Survivor, but now over the years we have over 300 reality television shows (Yahr, Moore, and Chow). Reality TV shows have impacted society negatively because they promote aggressive behavior and the use of drugs and alcohol causes society to imitate famous celebrities. While most of us think of Survivor as being the first reality TV show that came on air in 2000, reality television really started in 1948 with Allen Funt’s Hidden Camera show. Before it became a television show Funt had a radio show called Hidden Microphone which gave regular people unusual scenarios to react too (Slocum). Hidden Camera was an unscripted show that broadcasted unsuspecting people reacting to pranks. Then in 1992, MTV aired its first reality show the Real World. MTV created the show to show seven to eight young adults going through real life issues relevant to …show more content…
It affects our behavior and how we treat one another while it also affects our morals and what we really believe in. If society has changed so rapidly in the last 60 years, is there hope that we can change again for the better in the next 60 years? I would like to hope that one day society will change again for the better. Instead of having one of the Kardashians as a role model we should look up to someone who really is making a difference in our society like Ellen DeGeneres or Oprah Winfrey who continuously give back to people all around the