Have you seen the popular reality television shows lately? The core of reality TV consists of: Fighting, sexuality, and an intolerable amount of drinking and drug use. Young viewers who watch reality TV may be assuming that this type of behavior is the ideal lifestyle. Even in the early years of reality TV, the main hook to keep viewers interested was to aspire to young women of what reality is. The Miss America pageants made some young women believe in the ideals of beauty and perfection. Similarly, the well-known show “I Love Lucy,” may have influenced women to strive to be nothing more than the best housewives they can be. Reality TV shows, such as “Bad Girls Club,” “Desperate Housewives,” and “Jersey Shore” all put the wrong idea of reality into young girls heads. Most women on reality shows are portrayed as materialistic, obnoxious divas, always searching for male attention, and acceptance. Shows like “Bad Girls Club,” and “Desperate Housewives” can make young women believe they should act like them to become accepted. If we are not already, we may soon see girls who want to imitate the actions of the women on reality shows, that “ideal” character.
“TV is a powerful influence on all of us, but particularly young girls who are looking for role models,” Los Angeles-based therapist Dr. Nancy Irwin told FOX411’s Pop Tarts column. “These shows glamorize the backbiting, gossiping, criticizing and competing with each other through beautiful hair, makeup and clothes.” (Dr. Nancy Irwin.) The main focus on these shows, such as drinking, drugs, and sex, can be a very bad influence on young women. These shows make it appear “cool” to have casual hookups and make it seem nearly impossible to have fun without alcohol or drugs. “It is encouraging them to be sexual from a young age. Of course they rarely ever mention the negative effects of potentially getting an STD, or falling pregnant,” said Nicole Weider, founder of Project Inspired, (A website designed to help young women.) Many young women are not so lucky to distinguish between fiction and reality. However, not all young women fall under the illusion of this false reality. Some women may not be subjective to the fake influence that reality TV is attempting to place in our life. Most viewers watch these shows for entertainment, but do they not see the ways it is corrupting young girls? It is not surprising to hear about girls as young as 13 coming to school drunk, because they are focused on looking “cool” and are already curious about drugs and sex. Of course reality TV didn’t force that into their minds, but reality TV has such a strong influence on our young viewers. The ideal of beauty is all over reality TV; most shows focus their attention on appearances and financial status. Girls should not be so fixated on looking like the stars on these shows. According to WebMD Medical News, “Reality television is contributing to eating disorders in teen girls. With shows like Are You Hot? The Search for America’s Sexiest People and Extreme Make Over, ‘young women believe that to be accepted you have to be ‘hot’ or a ‘bombshell.’ (Kirchheimer) Since the boom of reality television in 2000, eating disorders in teenage girls (ages 13-19) have nearly tripled.”
Some viewers believe by watching celebrities cope and deal with their issues, such as Howard Lapides on “Celebrity Rehab” – “Sober house with Dr. Drew,” reality TV can help viewers overcome their own problems. How is watching someone on a reality show benefiting you? If you have your own problems, you shouldn’t just be watching television hoping your questions will be answered. Many people might say that reality shows can provide people with therapist they could not otherwise afford. These shows could provide people with outside help, but what if it’s wrong? How accurate can a person on your television be, to tell you what is wrong with your life and how to fix it? They can’t, and you shouldn’t listen to what someone might say on your TV. We as viewers need to take a moment to realize what we are welcoming into our lives. What are we allowing to influence us? How can we help young women not fall victims of the false illusion of reality TV? We should consider taking responsibilities into our own hands, and shut these fabricated TV shows out of our lives. Reality TV shows can be a corruptive influence on many young women, they should not feel the need to change their character to be accepted by society.
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