With the growing popularity of this genre, there has been an increase of youth crime related to these shows. Opponents of modern-day reality television shows believe that this popular genre is responsible for promoting aggressive behavior in young adults. They argue that this genre has created a copy-cat behavior in the youth, has increased bullying in schools, and has fueled an aggressive and competitive nature in young women.
Well-Renowned psychologist Brian Wilcox discusses this copy-cat behavior that has led to an increase of aggressive and violent behavior in young adults. In 2001, three teenage boys attempted to recreate a stunt performed on Jackass, an MTV reality show. The stunt involved one of the boys “bouncing off the hood” of the car after the car slammed into him. The boys later admitted that they were trying to recreate a stunt displayed on the show.
Another incident was inspired by the reality game show, The Weakest Link. In July 2001, “Christopher Bishop sent a bomb to his wife…with the message ‘You are the weakest link, Goodbye,’ on the package. The bomb did explode, giving Tracy Kilgrow-Bishop minor burns.”
Both incidents exemplify the aggressive and violent behaviors that reality television shows have portrayed and therefore inspired their viewers to copy these behaviors. Suzanne Chamberlin, a culture studies analyst at the Family Research Council, writes “the reality shows perpetuate a feeling of invincibility—which is far more dangerous than an audience that is merely less affected by violence. It breeds an ‘if ordinary people can do it, then I can’ mentality. This demonstrates that the dangers of reality television are responsible for breeding aggressive tendencies because when viewers believe that what they see on reality television shows are real, they are further inclined to perform such behaviors themselves.
Reality television shows are also increasing the bullying in schools. Shelba Waldron, a training manger for the St. Petersburg Juvenile Welfare Board believes that there is a direct correlation between what kids view on these shows and how they behave in school. She adds, “Studies have shown that girls who watch these violent realty TV shows have a higher incidence of bullying, cyberbullying and other bad behavior than girls that do not.” Much like the copy-cat phenomenon explored earlier, young adults believe the reality television shows they are watching are real and then are therefore more likely to mimic the behavior they are watching. In most cases, this behavior is fights between co-stars. At the SSAC bullying conference Waldron says, “Factor in a steady diet of violence, both verbal and physical, from shows that today’s youth believe are real and unscripted, and you start to see how TV violence can creep into the class room.” This further demonstrates the vulnerability of the youth mixed with the realistic violence on reality television shows that has led to an increase of bullying in schools.
Opponents of reality television also argue that reality television has bred an aggressive and competitive nature in young women, further leading to self-esteem issues. Mark Flynn, a reporter for The Psych Report, writes “Teens are also arguably the most susceptible group to body image disturbances and eating disorders in the U.S.” The article also discusses how teens are frequently judging themselves based on the body types of others, so being exposed to reality television members, people who are supposed to display the reality of society, has become unhealthy for teens. When studying Real World, a successful MTV reality television show, Flynn found that women “were mostly slender with 69 percent having low body fat, and close to half had medium to large bust sizes.” He also found that nine out of ten women’s bodies were at least minimally exposed, and nearly one third of the women cast were partially or fully undressed. When teens, the biggest demographic of reality television show viewers, are exposed to these unrealistic versions of beauty, their self-esteem is compromised.
By comparing themselves with women cast on reality television shows, they are also exposed to the catty girl fighting that reality television shows are infamous for. Waldron writes, “While there are many types of reality TV shows, those focused on young people living together or being placed in temporary group settings are packed with violence, especially girl-on-girl or woman-on-woman. Shows such as Jersey Shore, the Kardashians, Real Housewives of…, TeenMom, and others are packed with violent verbal and physical exchanges. Some reality TV shows are blatant about violence, such as Bad Girls Club.” This demonstrates that girl viewers are more likely to compare themselves physically with girls on these reality television shows, then resulting in an increase of competitive, aggressive behavior displayed in these shows.
The modern-day reality television shows are causing direct harm to the youth, both mentally and physically. By exposing the youth to violence, they are then more likely to replicate this behavior. Also, this exposure to violence and aggression has resulted in an increase of bullying in schools. Lastly, reality television harms the self-esteem of young adults, leading them to competitive and aggressive behavior.
Reality Television in 2017 