Reality TV

Though most of the articles online show the negative effects of reality TV, for every two negative articles I found, I found one positive one. Hoarding shows getting people to admit they have a problem, "Biggest Loser" fighting obesity in America, promoting healthy living and even opening up serious conversations about bulimia and anorexia. But how helpful can a scripted television program masquerading as an ever so popular makeover style entertainment actually be? The Biggest Loser has been around since 2005, taking in overweight contestants and training with them to lose weight, the winner of the show being the one who loses the most, hence the name "Biggest Loser". This show is controversial, to say the least. While it shows the positive effects on the television show ( the weight loss and promotion of healthy living) but what they don't show is how hard they work their contestants. From the moment their audition tape is accepted, contenders must sign a con...

Older generations are constantly saying that kids these days are getting more self-centered. Not only has research shown this to be true, but it has also shown links between this rise in narcissism and reality tv. Robert Lull of the University of Pennsylvania and Ted Dickson of the University of Ohio performed an experiment that linked narcissism to certain television genres like reality series, sports, and political talk shows. Dickson states, "Many of the messages to which we're exposed on TV today feature rampant self-interest, disregard of others' well-being, and a focus on the individual - which are all components of narcissism." This experiment was done by taking 565 undergraduates and having them indicate how often they watched certain genres by using a one to seven scale starting at "never" and going to "very often". They then completed a narcissistic personality inventory in which they'd choose between 40 different pairs of statement...

Teenage pregnancy, crimes, and inappropriate child behavior. These are all things that are looked down upon, but within the last two decades have been exploited on television more than ever. From shows like "Sixteen and Pregnant" to "Jersey Shore", television is showing us the harsh, taboo side of entertainment. But now it's not just on the tv. Since these controversial shows have been aired, the problems they're presenting are even more prevalent. The MTV show "Sixteen and Pregnant" aired for the first time June 11th, 2009. That year approximately 410,000 teens gave birth in the United States alone (Hardwood). The next year approximately 614,000 teenage pregnancies were documented. In 2011 there was a group of three girls who had a friend who starred on "Teen Mom 2" got pregnant within a year of her start on the show. The program has been shown to have a copycat effect, in which teens realize if they get pregnant they'll have a c...