Is reality TV making or breaking us? (We are beyond repair!)

For starters, these reality television shows have become sources of cultural erosion. Most of them portray the cultural traits of the western world.

Thursday, October 17, 2013
Doreen Umutesi

For starters, these reality television shows have become sources of cultural erosion. Most of them portray the cultural traits of the western world.

The rate at which young people are embracing these cultural traits is really high in that if you carried out a survey, you would discover that how the youth behave today is attributed to what they watch on television. At least based on most of the reality television shows I have watched, all of them portray the lives of the rich and already established people in society. These shows don’t show what the average person in society faces or encounters while struggling to make ends meet so as to inspire others. These shows also pass on the wrong message and are affecting viewers directly, like how to dress, talk or interact. Most of these reality shows portray that for a woman to achieve anything, they have to be sexually appealing, especially the way they look, dress and talk which I find very pathetic. This is how our young women are behaving today. Reality TV is breaking us beyond repair! For instance, I have never known how as viewers we benefit from watching "Keeping up with the Kardashians” that airs on E! Entertainment, an American basic cable and satellite television channel which is also aired by most of our local digital television systems in Rwanda. An article published by elitedaily.com "Why Reality TV is like a Drug with Bad Side Effects” stated that reality TV has been expanding its horizons for years now and it has officially reached the pinnacle of stupidity. Millions of people around the world sit down after a long day of work and unwind with their favourite reality TV shows, but little do they know, they are getting dumber by the second. The article further showed how reality TV is like garbage for the mind. It is also like a highly addictive drug. It may feel good and calm you down to watch people who have bigger problems than you, but at the end of the show, there is absolutely nothing gained and only time lost. Therefore, I would wish that the producers of these shows should not only focus on making money, they should also think of how they are impacting society since most of their well-regarded viewers are the younger generation.