Essay Sample on Reality TV: Impact on Society & Goals it Seeks to Achieve

Introduction

The reality television impact in society is profound, and it can be analyzed in various ways that include the determination of the effects that these shows have in community and the goals that they seek to realize. In most cases, the shows lack informative stance when compared to the programs, such as education views and news. They are mainly utilized as a source of entertainment, mainly focusing on people’s lives, commitments, achievements, and failures that trigger emotions among the viewers and participants. It makes people forget their real life for a moment when they are watching the shows, and they lead to significant changes on the way society operates (Bartlett et al., 2019). Reality tv creates a form of imagery that many people try to associate with, for it creates a life of celebrity status among the participants of a show. They leave the viewers’ seeking for more of the entertainment that is generated.

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Positive and Negative Effects in Society

Reality tv has triggered the generation of positive and negative effects in society, and it has changed the way people view life. The concept of traditional celebrity has also changed, and this is an issue that is making the wider society get glued to their screens for the shows (Ferguson et al., 2013). In the younger years, I sued to watch shows like “Love and Hip-hop Atlanta,” and it was used to document the daily lives of the hip-hop musicians and their managers. At the time, I enjoyed the shows, and I would not miss a single episode. The reality television series create an interesting impression in my mind. However, it is essential to note that these reality television shows depict the actors’ reality considering some of the films shows the issues that the actors endure when they want to lose weight. Some sections of the show are controversial since the participants are coached, some of the scenes are restaged, deceptive storylines, and they have fraudulent editing. The element is being manipulated by many production houses for profitability purposes. The reality tv series have outrageous scenes that are filled with controversy, and this is aimed at generating viewership that will enable them to beat off the competition of the rival shows. Despite the controversies that are generated by these shows, they are expected to continue growing in popularity.

Stereotypes

When taking a stance on reality tv, it is critical to focus on the stereotypes that are generated when viewing the shows. It is possible to note the various stock characters when viewing the reality shows, and some of the actors include the good girl against the slut battle or the gangster guy. They assume such characters to ensure that there is a characterization of individuals and make the viewers understand their attitudes and behaviors. The stereotypes that they adopt a harmful to society and the way that it functions, for they can corrupt peoples’ minds leading to the creation of a wrong attitude. The wrong ideals are created on sexuality, beauty, celebrity status, and wealth concepts. Some of the shows like “Extreme Makeover,” are creating a concept of beauty that is sometimes difficult to realize in the normal world, and this is triggering a wave of disappointment among people as they seek to find the ideal concept of beauty as shown in the films. When playing the real-life situations, the contestants compete for prize money or cases of elimination in completion with the desire to determine individual endurance levels. The viewers are allowed to vote for the participants on probation, and the issue creates an element of connection with the various participants in a show. The shows are captivating, and they keep the viewers glued to their television, and there is no given moment that they can miss a show.

In some instances, reality tv tends to have a positive effect in society for some of the shows support the message of change. The public is trained in the way to meet the social expectations enabling them to become happier and raising their productivity levels. In the shows advocating for weight loss, it is noted that the series advocates for the need to maintain a healthy living, and the benefits that are realized from running a healthy life are shown through the characters leading a healthy and happy life (Vertoont, 2018).

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be noted that reality tv was generated due to the need to have cheap entertainment with the desire to realize fame and economic gain leading a significant number of people to join the sector. However, adverse issues are raised from these reality shows for the wrong image I sent to the world on matters regarding beauty, wealth, and sexuality. The controversies that are raised in these shows are leading to the creation of a corrupted world, for it can be noted that some of the producers in these series are driven by the urge to make profits and not educate the public. Therefore, when examining reality television, it is essential to focus on the effects of these series to society, for it has been noted that there are negative and positive effects that are raised. Some of the shows handle various issues that are adversely affecting the lives of human beings, such as weight loss. When the actors are passing through drills that will enable them to lose weight, the program becomes educative to the wider society leading to positive effects on the masses.

References

Bartlett, A., Clarke, K., & Cover, R. (2019). Playing with Scripts: Social Experiments and Reality Television. In Flirting in the Era of# MeToo (pp. 51-75). Palgrave Pivot, Cham.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15508-7_3

Ferguson, C. J., Salmond, K., & Modi, K. (2013). Reality television predicts both positive and negative outcomes for adolescent girls. The Journal of pediatrics, 162(6), 1175-1180.
https://doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2012.11.067

Vertoont, S. (2018). Would you date ‘the undateables’? An analysis of the mediated public debate on the reality television show ‘The Undateables’. Sexualities, 21(5-6), 825-839.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1363460717699782