Social media has profoundly impacted the reality TV landscape, blurring the lines between on-screen personalities and real life. With the rise of platforms like Instagram and TikTok, the relationship between social media and television has become more entwined.
While this has led to increased engagement in these shows and the chance to connect with fellow fans and the actual contestants of these shows, it has also led to increased online backlash and vitriol towards these contestants, and the shows themselves seeming more inauthentic, with the goal of these contestants shifting from falling in love or winning the prize, to trying to gain as many followers and influencer opportunities as possible.
HOW SOCIAL MEDIA HAS Changed REALITY TV
Social media has become a huge part of reality TV, and it has changed the way audiences and contestants view and participate in these shows. Research by the Council for Research Excellence found that 16% of TV viewers use social media at the same time. Econsultancy reveals that more than 90% of online public conversations about TV are on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Social media has become almost like an extension of reality TV. When people watch a show, they are not just watching that show; they are also checking the show’s Instagram, checking to see what fans think on Reddit, tweeting about drama or their favorite contestants, seeing which person has the most Instagram followers and then watching YouTube essays or recaps.
While this can be a fun way to engage with the show and connect with other fans, it has led to contestants often facing intense scrutiny and backlash from audiences, amplified by the viral nature of social media. Online platforms can serve as battlegrounds for public opinion, where contestants are judged, vilified or celebrated based on their on-screen personas.
Part of reality TV’s allure is that a lot of elements are “real” while also playing upon viewers’ love of drama by being semi-scripted. What is “real” and what is not becomes a topic of conversation on social media and can lead to people creating theories, arguing in favor of a contestant or identifying inconsistencies. That’s not to say that people didn’t do this before social media exploded, but now it’s much more public, much easier for anyone to offer their opinion and much more likely that social media will influence contestants’ behavior.
Due to this often very intense online backlash, contestants tend to act like a shell of the person they probably are in real life.
“Reality shows have been found to exacerbate body anxiety, increase physical aggression and mess with our expectations for romantic relationships,” Judy Berman, for TIME, said.
This has only been more exaggerated with social media, as the opinions of the viewers shift constantly, going from loving a contestant one day, to hating them the next, to loving them again the day after that.
Additionally, it feels as though reality TV has gotten more inauthentic, as more and more contestants join the show solely to get famous and have the chance at a career as an influencer. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok have allowed contestants to build personal brands and careers beyond their appearances on these shows. Contestants from shows like “Love Island” and “The Bachelor” often gain large social media followings, leveraging their fame for brand deals and other business ventures.
Case Study 1: The Bachelor
Since its premiere in 2002, “The Bachelor” and its subsequent spinoffs have become embedded in American culture. The essence of the show has shifted within the past decade, from being about finding love to being just another way to become an influencer and gain followers. This is mainly due to a change in the casting process, with many fans calling out the show for casting more people with careers such as “influencer” and less with traditional jobs. This change in casting is likely because of the increased marketability of these contestants, who are guaranteed to bring more viewers to the show as they have more followers and influence than “regular” contestants.
While this tactic may have brought the show more viewers, it has also led to fewer people being on the show “for the right reasons.” This lack of authenticity has become easy to notice, with countless seasons over the recent years ending with no traditional proposal or marriage.
Season 15 of “The Bachelorette,” featuring Hannah Brown, is still one of the most notable examples, wherein it was revealed that final pick Jed Wyatt solely came on the show to boost his music career and even had a girlfriend back home while on the show. The latest season of “The Bachelorette” with Jenn Tran ended so badly that the franchise paused filming to retool the show.
As the career of an influencer has evolved, the odds of getting rich on Instagram after “The Bachelor” are a lot higher than the odds of finding love. Some contestants experience as much as a 140,000% increase in followers, jumping from having small private accounts to having followers in the hundreds of thousands and even millions.
According to Refinery29, influencer marketing platform Tribe Dynamics estimates Revolve garnered a whopping $452,103.32 in earned media value from eight posts by Kaitlyn Bristowe in the first half of the year, as well as $200,883.80 for six posts by Lauren Bushnell.
This has led to many contestants coming onto the show solely to become famous, completely defeating the purpose of the show, which was to find love. Rarely do any relationships that come out of this franchise actually work out, but there are plenty of former contestants who were able to make money, and even make a living, off of their time on this franchise.
With the ability to post on Instagram or live-tweet while episodes air, as well as tag brands in outfit pics, Bachelor contestants have unprecedented direct access to their fans. While this can almost guarantee them a bigger following and at least a couple of brand deals, there is also this increased pressure contestants feel to be perceived positively on social media during and after the show.
Case study 2: Love Island
“Love Island” is a dating competition show that features a group of singles living in a villa, where they have to couple up and compete in challenges in the hopes of winning $100,000. Unlike the majority of dating reality shows, which are recorded months in advance, “Love Island” airs in real time, airing almost every day for six weeks straight.
Additionally, one of the things that makes “Love Island” unique from other dating shows is that it has an app, where, once a week, fans are invited to vote for contestants. These votes from fans then influence who is safe from that week’s eviction and who is put up for elimination that week. This makes the show very interactive, with the fans having influence over the narratives and outcomes of the show.
What’s more, the audience even decides which couple wins the show and gets the money, meaning that social media is very important to the show, and much more a part of its DNA than any other reality dating show, like “The Bachelor,” for example. Through social media, fans can interact directly with contestants, express opinions about episodes and participate in online communities dedicated to the show.
While this is a great way to generate tons of engagement and viewers, it can have detrimental effects on the contestants. These contestants are being watched by millions of people every day for six straight weeks, meaning there is an exponential amount of pressure on them to do and say the right things, or else they could end up as the villain of the week.
This pressure and vitriol from audiences have never been more apparent than during the last season, season seven. Millions of viewers were ripping into Huda one week, and then dragging Chelly and Olandria for being “mean girls” the very next week. It seems as though there has been a collapse of the boundaries between the fans and the contestants, which has led to a sort of parasociality and overfamiliarity with these contestants.
Because the viewers are seeing these contestants every day and can influence what goes on in the show, they form connections with these contestants. They also feel this sort of control over them, because if these contestants do something the audience doesn’t like, they can put them up for elimination and possibly send them home, ending their time on the show and their opportunity to gain more followers and brand deals. Social media has emboldened people to feel like they have a say in the plot lines and, in turn, the contestants’ lives.
Reality TV has really never been real, in a sense. Even so, in the past, it was more relatable and raw. It wasn’t a game of trying to gain as many followers as possible in the shortest amount of time. Instead, the people who went on these shows were more authentic and were there to actually play the game or find love.