What’s that one thing that can get most anyone and everyone excited? The answer is DRAMA. We all love watching other people’s drama, which explains why shows like Keeping Up With The Kardashians are still going strong. But we don’t like just any drama, we’re addicted to ROMANTIC drama. There’s a reason why there are so many reality shows that focus on building or forcing people into relationships.
For example, Terrace House is a famous reality show from Japan where six strangers live together in one house and spend time together. There are studio commentators, typically models or comedians, who watch the show as viewers and comment on what is happening as we, normal viewers, would. This show isn’t necessarily a dating show, but in most seasons we see couples forming, and fights and jealousy erupting between participants.
I definitely love watching these shows, but my issue with some from Japan is that there are dating reality shows featuring high school students. I find it crazy, but they’re incredibly popular. I don’t think it’s a great influence on young teens to see stereotypically skinny, good-looking, cookie-cutter boys and girls trying to create “authentic” relationships on shows that are very much controlled by adults.
These dating shows are produced by an online video streaming website, Abema TV, under a category called 恋愛リアリティー (Love Reality), which basically stands for reality dating shows, and they have various types of shows within this category. Most participants are Instagram and TikTok influencers or models from teen magazines. They already have a career and a following which sparks the attention of young viewers, because they are interested in seeing their favorite people trying to “find love.” Another reason they are featured is because they know how to act and can show the viewers exactly what they want to see, whether it’s being hugged from behind or affectionate gestures.
If these programs were just plain and simple dating shows, I would be more accepting, but each show has a concept that makes it harder for participants to build real relationships. The environments these high school participants are thrown into are situations you might see in a Japanese manga targeted toward girls. For example, “forbidden love” is a theme in one of the shows where high school girls try to build a romantic relationship with their college tutor!
Let me give some more examples.
- 今日好きになりました。（I Have Fallen For You Today）
This is a show where six to eight high schoolers go on a trip for three days to try to become couples. It seems impossible, but there are many couples born from this show, although most of them break up after a month or so saying they were better off as friends.
- オオカミくん・オオカミちゃんシリーズ（The Wolf Series）
This series is especially popular, because one or more of the boys would be in a position called the オオカミ (wolf) meaning they must hide their identity, much like the party game Werewolf or Mafia. Their role is to trick someone into liking them and to break their heart at the end. This position used to be exclusively for the boys on the show, but in the last two seasons girls have taken on the role of tricking the boys.
So, what exactly is it that weirds me out about these shows? It’s the fact that in Japan these reality shows featuring high school students who find “love” and build romantic relationships are accepted so normally. Seeing young influencers on these shows forces young viewers to feel like they also have to be in some kind of relationship.
Even the advertisements shown during these dating shows are for dating apps like Tapple. Abema TV releases their content for free for a certain period, which is why they have ads during their shows. The age of viewers for these reality shows ranges from young teenagers to young adults, leading me wonder if it is appropriate to have these kinds of advertisements.
Dating can be a fabulous experience but there are so many ways it can happen. Reality shows are entertaining, but I can’t help but wonder if what the audience wants to see is being prioritized over reality in some cases, especially for programs featuring high school students. Could it really be REALITY if the environment is so staged?