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Kyle Tremain
Professor Holly Batty
ENG 114B
5 February 2014
Reality TV Bad for Youth
Reality television is a popular type of program the youth of today view in their everyday
lives, but what is the unrealistic substance of these types of shows really doing to
teens? Viewing reality television is becoming more and more of a source of good entertainment
for the young people of today. Teenage girls and boys have so much pressure and troubles to
deal with in their own life that they should not have to be bothered with someone elses troubled
life in reality TV. Reality television shows, such as Jersey Shore and Teen Mom, are corrupt
for teens to watch for they display mature content, put pressure to look differently, and change.
Most of the reality shows available for teens to watch contain a high amount of explicit
content that they are not mature enough to handle or comprehend. In an ABC broadcasting report
of the TV reality show Teen moms, Andrea Canning, a professional news reporter, depicts the
result of a brutal girl fight: Janelle Evans, 19, was arrested Sunday after video surfaced of her
punching another woman at her Oak Branch, N.C. hometown. She charged with simple assault
and simple affray (Cannning 1).A reality show where teen moms are supposed to be taking care
of their baby instead give teens inappropriate visual images that they could be seeing for the first
time with their own eyes. Reality shows that display visual mutiny are not meant for the innocent
mind of a young teenage boy or girl. In his research article, Fergus Sheppard demonstrates how
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many teens watch mature content when he states, Last night's debut episode of the new series
of I'm a Celebrity was watched by 9.4 million viewers and it again proved popular with the
younger audience, capturing more than 42 per cent of its target 15-30-year-old audience. It
featured the odd bleeped-out expletive from contestants. (Sheppard 2)In this quote, Fergus is
emphasizing the amount of teens that are attracted to this inappropriate drama. Reality TV
shows, like this one are sending an immoral message for teens, that speaking vulgar is acceptable
when in real life is not respectable at all. When it comes to reality TV watching, teens choose to
watch what amuses them even if their minds should not be exposed to such language and
ferocity.
Teens see certain individuals in reality television show and regardless if it is going
against whom they truly are or not, put the effort in to strive to be the person who is labeled by
society as accepted. Professor Thomas Pruzinsky, a licensed psychological researcher,
committed a survey on older teenagers who receives plastic surgery with results affirming four of
five patients reported that television influenced them to pursue a cosmetic surgery procedure
(Pruzinsky 1).Through this survey it is clear to realize that there is a strong causation with girls
watching other people in reality TV get plastic surgery causing the viewer to now follow in their
footsteps. This is an example of how reality TV has many negative role models that girls get
drawn to think are popular and cool resulting in mimicking their unreasonable actions. David
Rassic, a researcher from Scholastic Scope, questions the manipulation of teens by asking, Are
all girls obsessed with clothes and spray tans? Are all boys obsessed with getting toned abs?
That's what many of the most popular reality shows would have you think (Rassic 1). Mr.
Rassic is showing the desire of teen boys and girls to portray the exact figure and shape of the
celebrity teens they view on TV. Teens doing such action destroy their self-esteem, making them
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think they are not good unless they are as good-looking as a reality TV star figure. Reality shows
give the wrong message to teens when it comes to how they are supposed to look.
Although reality television will not phase a few teens, the vast majority do get
manipulated to change the way one acts. Journalist, Herald Daily interviews a young teenage girl
in junior high asking her if she looks at Snooki from Jersey Shore as a role figure: "I don't think
Snooki has inspired me to do anything," said the 13-year-old, laughing and referencing one of
the show's stars, "I don't take it so seriously" (Daily 3). There a few are teenagers who actually
do not follow in the footsteps of these TV stars, but for the most part young teens may say they
do not look up to them, when on the inside they secretly do. For the young men and women who
try to shape their image in the eyes of reality TV expectations, severe results can occur.Through
Herald Dailys study of more than 1, 100 teenage girls, he concluded that, Girls who regularly
watched reality TV accepted and expected a higher level of drama, aggression and bullying in
their own lives (Daily 1). Based on this documented survey there is a correlation between the
behaviors of people in reality shows and the mimicked behavior teens watching these people
have on their own life. Disruption of teen girls natural personality gets destructively altered by
the persuasive media pressure of wanting to be like a reality TV star. The ruthless behaviors of
older teen girls in reality TV shows have a strong influence on young teen girls who are trying to
be like famous reality TV stars, no matter how mean and violent they can be.
Reality television shows, like Jersey Shore and Teen Mom, disrupts the natural essence
of a teenagers life by containing content that is overly-mature, causing them to change their
behavior, and be the idealistic body image depicted. The teenage population gets trapped in the
manipulative influences of reality TV, such as making one want to copy the stars behavior,
focusing on their physical looks, and dealing with having to change who they truly are
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completely. In conclusion, the effects that reality TV causes for teenagers are overbearing and
literally take over their actual lives.