Rapid Reality

The wise words of Psychology Today described reality TV as “our desire to fantasize about the prospect of easily acquired fame.”
The glamorous lives of these reality TV stars tend to hook us in, and the star’s only goal is to make sure we keep watching.
Bachelor in Paradise, Love Island, Survivor, and Alone, are all meant to attract and appeal to their audiences.
Now, watching reality TV may seem harmless, but what’s so alarming is how it has viewers addicted.
“Reality TV is so addicting and binge worthy because of how entertaining it gets,” said Junior Tatiana Love. “[Reality TV] shows how everyone has different opinions and perspectives of it all.”
Love explains perfectly why so many people are attracted to these shows, and she isn’t the only one who’s figured out the secret.
“It’s an easy watch for people who want to escape the monotony of the real world,” said Sophomore Zoey Van Horn, “It’s a way to look into the lives of people you’d never see outside of TV.”
Van Horn relatably suggests that you would never see these people unless on TV, which speaks volumes about the people we choose to compare ourselves to and entertain ourselves with.
“I normally gravitate to the [shows] about relationship drama or drama in general,” Love said, “I love seeing how everyone else could probably be going through the same thing just in a different way.”
Watching TV alone is one thing, but being able to experience it with friends is a whole other realm and it usually is a make or break factor when watching.
“I would say [watching with friends] is a big par t[of watching Reality TV] because I love hearing my friends’ opinions on things like if we don’t agree on something I’d want to know why they disagree and or agree,” Love said.
Love isn’t the only one who thinks watching with friends is a big part of the appeal of reality TV.
Senior Amadeus Frame said, “I kind of gravitate towards watching with people.”
Having someone else to share opinions, ideas, and judgments is crucial when it comes to reality TV and the enjoyment of watching.
“It’s, again, something relatable that most any person can somewhat connect with and debate,” Van Horn said.
Celebrities tend to be a controversial conversation topic, especially when it comes to viewing someone differently, so these might be the things you talk about with friends while watching reality TV shows.
“The celebrities, drama, flashiness, money, views, everything: celebrities post enough to make their Instagram page a reality show in-it-of-itself,” Frame said.
Celebrities and their flashy, unrealistic lifestyles are constantly being promoted and paraded on social media, so much so that it seems normal to see them act the same on TV.
These celebrities already create enough drama for any show before they’ve even been in it.
“Drama doesn’t come from a place of nothing,” said Van Horn, “it layers upon itself to create something more interesting for the characters and audience alike; it gets you to think.”
As these reality TV shows use the same tactics to hook as many people as they can, they don’t realize to what extent they are affecting people.
Whether it’s the drama or newly formed relationships, these producers know their audience well enough to make it addicting.
And whether these Vikings are fantasizing about the prospect of fame, or socializing with friends, Reality TV is one thing the students are all tuning in for.