The appeal of reality tv Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The appeal of reality tv - Research Paper Example Reality TV presents the lives of ordinary people to viewers, as a platform for exploring the subjects featured in the programs, towards demonstrating their story and to clear areas of misconceptions. This paper will explore the genre of reality TV, demonstrating the positive and the negative impacts it causes on its viewers and the society at large. The paper will end in the conclusion that reality TV causes more positive than negative impacts on society (Malekoff 2). The Arguments in Support of Reality TV Radford (1) discusses that, despite the fact that reality is often criticized as a vacuous genre that cannot communicate social value, a study carried out on girls between the ages of 11 and 17 demonstrated the opposite. The study showed that the girls that watched reality TV benefited from it in a number of areas, including that it became a learning avenue, it opened new communication lines and it motivated their engagement in social causes (Kilborn and John 123). For instance, th e findings from the study showed that 75 percent of the girls surveyed, were inspired to converse more with their friends and their parents. Some girls reported that they gained inspiration from the reality TV shows, with more than 68 percent of the girls that watched, claiming that it made them develop the outlook that they could achieve anything in life (Radford 1). Sixty-two percent of the girls that watched reality TV reported that the genre increased their awareness of social causes and issues, including those related to personal development. Contrary from the outlook that watching reality TV corrupts the outlook of viewers, the girls surveyed – viewers and non-viewers of reality TV – held the view that the value of girls is not based on their look. This account demonstrates that reality TV develops the outlook of members of society, and demonstrates that it helps them develop positive traits that help them in daily life. Among the characteristics learnt through r eality TV, among the girls surveyed, include motivation, leadership characteristics, self-esteem and social consciousness (Fetveit 787). Among the regular viewers of reality TV, common views included that the girls viewed themselves as a source of good influence; they viewed themselves as mature, funny, smart and outgoing. Following the expanded outlook of the girls, it was also most likely that frequent viewers would aspire to take leadership roles, as they viewed themselves as leaders – more than the non-viewers did (Radford 1). Contrary to the view that reality TV shapes the outlook of teens, towards becoming obsessed with beauty and making boyfriends, the study demonstrated that the views of the two groups were similar. For instance, 42 percent of the non-viewers group spent a lot of time admiring and working on their appearances (Radford 1). Among the viewers and the non-viewers groups, less than half of the girls reported inclination towards dating. The study of the gir ls demonstrates that the negative impacts of watching reality TV are not as high as they are often projected, and the benefits are far-reaching. For instance, the outlook of the girls that they were mature and a source of good influence are likely to change their outlook towards life in a positive manner. This demonstrates that