reality tv popularityI can’t claim to be a fan of reality TV. Nevertheless, I think that I understand the reasons for reality TV popularity.
There has been an increase in reality TV popularity in the past decade both here in the United States and in Europe. It started with the Big Brother show and progressed from there. I think that one of the reasons for reality TV popularity is that it features ordinary people. We can all relate to at least one of the people on the show in some way, whereas it’s somewhat more difficult to find a connection with the wealthy celebrities that star in regular television shows.
Another of the reasons behind reality TV popularity is that we gain a sense of forbidden joy by watching. Tuning into reality TV is similar to reading someone’s private diary or looking through a person’s private things hoping to find something scandalous or juicy. You shouldn’t do it but you can’t quite resist the temptation. Oddly we enjoy it most when the people who star in these shows go through a hard time, much as we enjoy reading or hearing tragic gossip about others. The say that misery loves company. Perhaps learning about the misfortunes of others on reality TV makes us feel better about our own character defects and the bad things that happen in our lives.