How Does Reality Tv Affect Teens

Reality Television is a relatively new phenomenon that has exploded over the last several years. Whether it has to do with an “extreme makeover” or finding the supposed love of your life, reality television has given us the opportunity to become voyeurs in others’ lives. Approximately, 50% of television audiences are watching reality shows (Webster University). Long gone are the days of whole television programs. Today, most reality shows depict women as an object, only defined and valued by their sexuality. What kind of message is this sending to young girls? The purpose of this study is to show that reality television can have a negative effect on teenage girls. This matters because it can lead to the sexualization of young girls.

In the study by the Girl Scouts Institute over 1000 girls ages 11-17 said that they regularly watched reality TV and “accept and expect a higher level of drama, aggression, and bullying in their own lives as well” compared to girls who didn’t watch

Some of the most popular television shows in today’s society are The Biggest Looser, Jersey Shore, and Big Brother. These programs and many others are classified as reality television. Reality television’s main purpose is to attempt to portray ordinary people in unscripted situations. Recently, however, many of these shows have achieved in creating the complete opposite, and have earned an immense amount of criticism as a result. Reality television programs are detrimental to society because they influence bad behavior among teenagers, do not produce authentic real life situations, and they humiliate many of the characters.

Teens behave from what is portrayed on TV, especially television shows such as Teen Mom, Real World and the infamous Jersey Shore. While there are parental controls that block children from watching these shows, teens always find a way to watch. Teens from 13-17 watch these shows which are highly inappropriate for their age group. In the beginning of Jersey Shore, it states “parental vision advised, and that should be a warning to the parents that this isn’t a show for a child watch. Looking at Jersey Shore, an evaluation on whether the content from the Jersey Shore is good or bad for the age group 13- 17 to watch considering the language used, the sexual and violent content, and whether they pick up these behaviors from Jersey Shore. The content

Everyday we are bombarded with images of perfect hair, luxury cars, and a life of extravagance we all desire. American society glorifies the rich and broadcasts their life of ease. We watch movies like “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “American Hustle” in order to make our lives more exciting. Escapism has become part of our society; we fantasize living like the Kardashians or the Real Houswives of any city. Because of reality TV, we have become infatuated with the extravagant lives of others rather than our own.

Reality television is popular all over the world. The influence reality television has on society is significant, especially its influence on the youth generation since television is a widely accessible form of mass culture. Psychologist Randall Flanery, PhD, director of the Eating Disorders Program at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine tells Webmd.com (2003) that he is especially concerned about its teenage viewers, who are more than likely to develop eating disorders. Holly Hoff, program director of the National Eating Disorders Association, also shared with Webmd.com (2003) her concerns about reality television’s impact on youth, saying that reality television

Because of all the materialistic cloths and jewelry seen on reality television high school girls feel the need to have little to no responsibility, but still want the finery seen in television. Also, because of the disregard of the importance of education high school girl can only see the shiny lie of success not knowing the work that goes along with success. Along with all the perfect faces seen on reality, television has pushed high school girls to want perfect skin and overwhelming sex appeal. Because of television the teens don't have a clear vision or reality high school girls are only seeing replicating what they have seen on reality

Firstly, reality TV programs are advocating detrimental stereotypes about gender, especially women to their audiences. According to The Music and Media Industry, written by Verena Stickler, the key demographic of reality TV show viewers is actually women from the ages 18-34. Women in this age group are still trying to figure their personal identity and are quite vulnerable and

Over the past years teenage shows are all about sexual relationships, violence, drugs, and physical and verbal aggression. Its shows that hurt teenage kids in so many ways without them even knowing. It gives them the right to think that all of that is okay to do and that it's easy to get away with it because that is what TV shows demonstrate. That you can do whatever you want and that it won't affect you in any type of way. Teens spend most of the time watching television then spending time with friends or reading books.

Women on reality television shows are often overly sexualized. Over forty percent of prime time reality television contains sexual content (Swantek). This stereotype and the increasing amount of sexual content exposed have an impact on younger female viewers. Girls are taught from a very early age by the media that their attractiveness determines their value. This is proven by a study the Girl Scout Research Institute performed.

“Studies show that while bullying can manifest as overt bad behavior like physical violence or screaming,” notes author Jen Christensen, “more often than not it can be more covert” (par. 5). Viewers should moderate reality television that portrays bullying because they can consciously and unconsciously practice those actions in real life. Another aspect of watching reality TV is excessive aggressive behavior emulating through the screen. Just like bullying, aggressive behavior can affect the viewers of the show.

Kids also have mistaken this show for an excuse to experiment with sexual desires. While high school students are taught to abstain from sex in numerous health classes, they learn from MTV that a lot of teenagers participate in sexual intercourse. This gives them the idea that sex is normal for young teens and that they should join the bandwagon too

(“Hot Topics, Teenagers” ) Many studies have shown that watching too much reality television can cause teens to do poorly in school.( "Is Reality TV Making You Stupid?.") Reality TV shows people, mainly teenagers spending a ton of money on items because they’re rich. And ordinarily because they are so wealthy and upper class people, they don’t have work unlike the middle class.(“Hot Topics, Teenagers” ) This kind of television will usually show teens acting out without showing any regard towards their consequences. ( “Hot Topics, Teenagers” ) This genre of television can sometimes even show underage drinking, which can make other teens think it is perfectly fine for them to drink under the age of 21. ("Is Reality TV Making You

Television plays a very large and influential role in spreading modern pop culture. It seems like there is no doubt that television are taking over and regulating many of our business, social value, and lifestyle. Its entertaining aspect led it to become a significant part of our lives. Since it has deeply rooted into our culture, we might believe that it always has been on our side. However, I personally thought that reality shows televise much more negative elements than exposing positive element. Thus, I began my research through searching how reality television shows affect its viewers.

In the article Our unhealthy love of reality TV bullying, author Jen Christensen discusses the mental and physical effects of watching reality TV, and how it encourages bullying. Christensen uses shows like “Kitchen Nightmares” and “Basketball Wives,” as shining examples of poor behaviour of reality stars. Christensen continuously refers to psychologist Sarah Coyne for backing of her opinion that these shows negatively affect their viewers. Christener uses many good statistics for instance,“... a decades-long study shows people who watched aggressive and violent behaviour on TV as kids were more likely to be aggressive…”