Why is "reality" TV popular? - General Discussion Discussion

[–] jonathan_k80 (6436) 2 years ago

I don't watch any of it. Along with competition programs and awards presentations, I find this stuff excruciatingly BORING.

The reason why there are so many of these shows is because they are one of the cheapest types of programming to produce.

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[–] 123Guy (7259) 2 years ago

but if they dont bring the numbers, they don't stay on, right? if it wasn't successful, there wouldn't be so many more coming out. SOMEONE is into them. Curious why

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[–] jonathan_k80 (6436) 2 years ago

It's mindless entertainment, another symptom of the continued dumbing-down of our society.

I don't know how ratings are weighed these days with viewership fragmented among broadcast networks, cable/satellite channels and streaming services. A cheaply-produced program might withstand fluctuations in ratings better than an expensive one because losses aren't as great. If the producers and networks aren't seeing the profits they had anticipated, they will quickly cancel the show.

It's all about money, not quality programming.

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[–] 123Guy (7259) 2 years ago

money for sure.
i guess there is always room for anything that has potential to make a profit.

from well written series, to shows that just show people getting kicked in the balls.

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[–] jriley555 (8117) 2 years ago

It shows a flaw in our social system, with the profit motive as being the sole justification for what is produced by the networks/outlets.

In an earlier era, there were boundaries for taste. Vulgarity was limited by social convention, expectations. As standards coarsened, it became an arms race to the bottom.

We have few, if any, cultural guard rails. The bottom line is we see a lot of low-rent behavior become the norm.

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[–] jonathan_k80 (6436) 2 years ago

Exactly. In the first few decades of television history, an attempt was made to present quality programming. And an hour-long broadcast slot contained about 52 minutes of the actual program.

Today it's about 42 minutes of the program and the remainder filled with commercials and endless repetitions of promos for upcoming shows, most of which are mindless drivel.

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[–] Kowalski (75520) 2 years ago

MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY.

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[–] AndyKing1967 (38068) 2 years ago

They appeal to the lowest common denominator.

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[–] 123Guy (7259) 2 years ago

but now, no one is going to hop in here and tell me what they LIKE about it. :D :D
i know what you mean though. yes, there are a LOT of viewers in the catagory

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[–] AndyKing1967 (38068) 2 years ago

It's chewing gum for the brain.

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[–] 123Guy (7259) 2 years ago

chewing WHAT ?? ;) (as in steaming piles of)

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[–] sslssg (34211) 2 years ago

I have watched a few of the "competition" shows. I'm currently watching the new Mole on Netflix. I was a little disappointed by it because of how over produced it is, and you can tell at least parts of it are scripted. Poorly. This is mindless entertainment, and I want to see if I can figure out who the mole is. I've watched So You Think You Can Dance, and World of Dance, as I love dance.

I have never watched reality tv like the Kardashians, Jersey Shore, or the one with Mama June?, or the duck one. I did watch the first season of the VH1 series where they put all the washed up celebrities in a house together. And....I am ashamed to admit this, but I did watch every season of Rock of Love. That was 100% trash, but it was on Tubi and I was stuck at home for a few weeks when I was down from chemo. It was like watching a train wreck. I can't explain why I kept watching it, but I sure did.

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[–] 123Guy (7259) 2 years ago

i think the appeal is the whole tabloid thing? watching people be stupid... maybe the appeal like soap operas: who's doing the next bad thing, the worst?

there's a thing about feeling better about your own life, when watching other people's lives that suck.

I'm just amazed they are still a thing, but like JK80 said, much much cheaper to make. like pennies for rental camera gear, pay no writers or actors, just edit and done

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[–] sslssg (34211) 2 years ago

I did also watch, and like UnReal. At least the first season. It went downhill from there. But it took a really cynical look at the making of shows like The Bachelor, which I've never watched. It just wouldn't surprise me if nothing in UnReal was fictional.

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[–] R_Kane (15828) 2 years ago

Its appeal is that is super-CHEAP to produce and, yes, people are stupid and will stare, mesmerized, at a dumpster fire. I recently read an article that the standards for the 100 IQ of humans—the “average intelligence” threshold—have been rolled back, and that the children of highly-intellligent parents are testing lower than Mom and Dad, suggesting that our digital environment is discouraging cognitive development. I’m reluctant to share a link here, because the quality of the MC community sinks more deeply into the cesspool daily, present company excepted.

Or to quote HL Mencken, “Nobody ever went broke by underestimating the taste of the American public.” Hell, Monica Lewinsky sucked off the President of the United States and, instead of being shunned, was rewarded with her own talk show.

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[–] sslssg (34211) 2 years ago

That wouldn't surprise me. I think it was in one of my educational psychology classes when we were discussing a couple of studies which studied neuropathways in the brain when watching a screen and reading a book. Screen used one neuropathway, even when watching an educational program. Reading used at least 3, more when reading an actual tangible book. Reading also helps change the way our brains work. Reading helps create white matter. White matter has more myelin which speeds up the transmission of signals from one part of the brain to another. Myelin is also what is attacked by the immune system when someone has MS. Which is why there can be not only physical difficulties with the disease, but also cognitive.

So yeah, my point is that if people don't read anymore, and spend their time only using a small part of their brain to watch crap tv, it doesn't surprise me that IQs are decreasing.

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[–] jonathan_k80 (6436) 2 years ago

One sad sign of our times is the NFL's "Play 60" program, its purpose being to get children to become more active. It's come to the point where some kids have to be prodded to get up and play, something that would have come naturally in the past.

There are psychologists who are concerned that excess screen time could be disrupting the development of children's brains, affecting the neuropathways as you described. There are kids who have been sitting in front of screens since infancy, when their parents used the TV as a babysitter. Between this and decreased physical activity there are bound to be consequences. We are seeing some of this beginning to manifest itself today; I almost shudder to think about what we will be experiencing ten years from now.

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[–] sslssg (34211) 2 years ago

I don't know if Disney was too far off with how humans are in WALL-E.

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[–] jonathan_k80 (6436) 2 years ago

I haven't seen WALL-E yet. It's on my list of animated films I plan on watching eventually.

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[–] AmeriGirl26 (14381) 2 years ago

Perhaps the Lowest Mental Common Denominator (LMCD) part of the TV-watching population truly thinks what their watching is real and laps it up?

A problem that tv studios have had to wrestle with since the 1950s, when tv's became a common household appliance in America, was trying to market tv shows that would appeal to a wide audience. It was discovered that a very large portion of the population is incredibly stupid, and can't handle shows that are too long or too "cerebral." However, even among the LMCD crowd, there's a limit to how much stupidity you can put in a show (ironic, isn't it?) so the marketers have to experiment all the time and try to strike a balance with the current pool of customers they're trying to have watch. Sadly, reality tv struck a cord with the largest tv-watching group (the brainless dumbasses), so the market for that exploded.

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[–] 123Guy (7259) 2 years ago

yeah, the see "REALITY" in the title, and think it is not lying to them. :D

just like "everything on the internet is true" :D

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[–] AmeriGirl26 (14381) 2 years ago

Strangely enough, it's been an issue ever since TV was invented. I mean, with some of the earliest tv shows, you had viewers writing letters to the actors, thinking their characters on the show were real! *facepalm*

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[–] R_Kane (15828) 2 years ago

“Perhaps”? To be clear: I have always always liked you and respected you a lot. I have had very good friends here who who’ve told me they have gone easy on you because she knows I am your friend and respect you.?That being said, there is nom “perhaps” here. People (NOT you, nor perhaps 6 or 7 others here) are effectively stupid.

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[–] AmeriGirl26 (14381) 2 years ago

I would like to point out that a few reality shows actually aren't dumb, but they are rare. Like the kind for fixing up houses, changing people's fashions, or, say, busting myths ;) No real need to script stuff like that. Some of the stuff that happens on them are even better than what could be thought up in a script!

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[–] overseas7 (4235) 2 years ago

"Like the kind for fixing up houses"... I like,e.g., fixer upper" a lot.

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[–] AmeriGirl26 (14381) 2 years ago

I saw an advertisement on youtube recently where they're gonna fix up a genuine castle, cool huh? I don't watch the show, but I've heard of it and I like castles, so...

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[–] overseas7 (4235) 2 years ago

Yes, I have read today a little bit about "fixer upper castle", but I can not watch it here in Europe (or not yet). Maybe you could try to watch a couple of the" old" chapters. They are good.

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[–] Whom (528) 2 years ago

I only watch Below Deck but used to watch Survivor, Amazing Race and the earlier years of the Real Housewives. Survivor and Amazing Race are still good, but a bit too formulaic and samey. I got bored with those a few years ago.

Housewives shows are TRASH. I used to watch them to see the goings-on in NYC and Orange County. Then the cast starting using the show to become “bravo-lebrities” and influencers. The women get so much plastic surgery every season and it becomes gruesome to watch these once attractive older women turn into Frankensteins. Then there are the fake or instigated fights. Embarrasing to see adults behave like that. They all look bitter and miserable too.

Below Deck is mindless too, but the destinations are gorgeous and the yachts are cool. The guests are trashy though. The crew drama is soap opera-ish. It’s pretty fun for a weeknight tv hour.

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[–] ShogunofYonkers (77353) 2 years ago

I like the cooking, home repair and decorating shows.

The rest of it is fake nonsense and I don’t watch it.

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[–] 123Guy (7259) 2 years ago

is cooking or repair dubbed REALITY though? I thought there was other catagory for those

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[–] ShogunofYonkers (77353) 2 years ago

You may be correct, I may be wrong. I just thought shows about people going through their routine was sort of a reality show. In any event, I’d rather watch a guy make an insane cheeseburger, repair a cottage or landscape a yard than watch the various awful housewives, Kardashians or Bachelors 😀

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[–] DoctorThirteen (13920) 2 years ago

God knows. I loathe it.

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[–] tcrum (31520) 2 years ago

I consider reality tv, cooking shows, pottery shows, and any show were the contestants have a skill they're using in competition. The other type to me is garbage.

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[–] damiendada (27) 2 years ago

personally i have never been interested in reality tv.

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