Why Are Reality TV Shows Fascinating?
Reality TV programs are now an integral part of television programming in various countries. In almost all of them they have had a resounding success, which decreases over time, until new shows with the same format take their place. The audiences for these programs number in the millions.
Time and time again reality TV shows have been categorized as “unwanted television”, especially when they show and recreate, in the crudest way, the worst of human beings.
However, this has no impact on the audience. There are still thousands of people who feel completely trapped by these programs and appreciate them as a kind of “guilty pleasure”.
Reality TV shows started appearing in the 1990s, but their real boom came in the 21st century, simultaneously with the preeminence of virtual reality and the focus on the so-called “post-truth”.
The question is: what do these programs have to capture so many audiences and capture the attention of so many generations together?
The protagonists of reality TV programs
Reality TV programs are about “broadcasting people’s lives live” or, at least, that’s what they want people to believe. To achieve this, they need, on the one hand, people who have no problem exposing their privacy. On the other hand, they also need viewers interested in front of their screens in the private affairs of those people who put their lives on the line.
Every time a call is opened to participate in one of these programs, thousands of people respond. The queues stretch out over entire streets. Breeding officials say all of these people have a common goal: they want to turn their lives around. They think that going on television is a golden opportunity to do so.
We feel like anyone can participate in a reality TV show, the truth is, they can’t. When selecting participants, certain characteristics are taken into account.
Participants must have oversized physical, psychological or cultural characteristics. Programs of this type are not looking for “ordinary” people.
The characteristics of the spectators
Some experts point out that viewers or followers of reality TV programs are basically of two types.
These two types have one characteristic in common: they are voyeurs . In other words, they like to watch without being seen, especially they like to know more about the intimate aspects of other people’s lives. But the motivation behind voyeurism varies from person to person, which is why there are two groups.
The first group is that of die-hard spies. These people want to see others exposed in their grossest cruelty, because it gives them a certain sense of power. This is why they sit in front of the television and behave like judges of human behavior. They are there to tell these people how to behave.
The second group is the one who wishes to contrast with the reality of the participants. People in this group seek to identify with some of the participants and are deeply committed to their defeats and accomplishments. Roughly speaking, they want to fulfill their own fantasies in a foreign body. It is a projection mechanism. They feel like they are part of the adventure in a foreign body.
The problematic aspects of reality TV programs
A study published in Psychology Today points out that viewers become so enamored with these types of programs, that they end up bonding with them which closely resemble addiction. As with a drug, reality TV programs cause strong endorphins discharges and, as a result, are addictive which can be classified as chemical.
Likewise, reality TV programs give viewers the illusion that they are also part of the plot. The public can often vote to eliminate or save a competitor, which creates an illusion of control.
However, the spectators remain spectators. They are witnesses to the lives of others, and thus cease to live theirs.
A reality TV program only provides a little entertainment or escape. Usually, these programs are “dictated” or, at least, edited. This means that they lack that spontaneity attributed in theory. We falsify what happens to awaken the morbid by appealing to the most basic motivations of the public. These programs are therefore probably not the best options for quality free time.
Our thoughts 
