Reality TV: hated or loved, followed along with devotion, or ignored and criticised. Whichever emotion you feel towards it, reality TV has been a prominent part of the media for years. Reality TV has been a fundamental element of popular culture: it has reached incredible levels of fame and popularity for shows about people who are essentially just living their lives – why? Why is there an interest or fascination in the lives of other people, and in the actions of strangers? Why do people love to sit and watch conversations or activities they could be doing?
There are probably many examples of academic research which can explain why reality TV has gained such popularity and enthusiasm from the general population. I am going to, however, just take a guess, as the idea of a shared human interest in how people exist and interact is intriguing. This leads me to my first thought: do people love reality TV because it allows you to view how different people think and act? Is there a sense of comfort in either agreeing or differing from how people would respond to situations? Or is it simpler than, that do people just love the drama? As life can get quite boring and monotonous sometimes, I can believe that being able to see, but not be involved in arguments, discussions, problems, and solutions is exciting. Is reality TV distant yet close enough to enjoy without feeling too vulnerable? Is it simply easy to listen to and absorb because it does not ask too much of the audience like everyday life does: to just sit and listen to people? Most likely, people love or hate reality TV for all of these thoughts and much more, but is it not interesting that so many people have a fascination with seeing the apparent ordinariness of life?