Exploring the motivations, dilemmas and societal fascination behind the world of reality television

Reality TV shows have always been around for as long as I can remember, but there seems to be a lot of buzz surrounding it these days. With the new season of the Bachelor and Love is Blind, my social media pages are filled with people’s opinions and interpretations of who is going to end up with who, and who might be a lost cause. With clips of people on these shows constantly circulating after episodes air, I can’t help but wonder why they would voluntarily want to go on these shows to be open to public scrutiny.

In no way am I saying that if you decide to go on a reality TV show you should automatically expect negativity or that you deserve it. In some cases, the audience ends up caring and rooting for certain individuals throughout their entire time on the show. The way reality TV stars are perceived can be a double-edged sword – you never really know if they’ll be loved or hated. Circling back to my initial line of questioning, why take that risk and go on these shows?

Every individual is different at the end of the day and will have different reasons as to why they decide to go on reality TV. For example, with shows that are centered around finding a romantic partner, well, the incentive is finding the love of your life. Sometimes these shows have successfully been able to introduce two people that go on to maintain a relationship even as the cameras stop rolling. Most of the time though, all the show can successfully do is jumpstart the participant’s influencer career – this doesn’t seem too much of an issue with fame being the main incentive for most people when they decide to participate in TV shenanigans. 

This is also the case for reality TV that is not centered around romance, such as Netflix’s The Mole and The Trust: A Game of Greed. These two shows are part of the vast many where an allocated money prize is available for whoever is remaining from those that have been eliminated throughout. Participants in shows like these are not only looking for fame, but also for a significant portion of money that has the potential to change their lives. 

Like I said, there are many reasons why one would go on these shows even if it is at the cost of their privacy. However, why do we – the viewers – love watching these shows so much? In a sense, reality TV gives us the chance to be a fly on the wall in the lives of everyday people that we can relate to. 

I understand that there are scenes within these episodes that are coerced or scripted by producers, but despite all that, a lot of the events naturally occur within the parameters that have been established by the specific show’s rules. These people are not actors, and this draws us to them because we’re able to empathize with the all-too-real-feelings of joy when overcoming a challenge, or heartache when witnessing someone you’re interested in with another – at least more than a character on a fictional show. 

Some people enjoy watching reality TV because it showcases real people trying to figure out specific dilemmas and how much they personally change from the experience. For example, I recently watched Netflix’s The Trust: A Game of Greed, where $250,000 was already distributed amongst 11 players. These players had the choice to vote privately at ceremonies to determine whether they wanted to eliminate someone or didn’t want to eliminate anyone at all. 

What was interesting to me about this show was that they all became winners from the very start and could have just gone about their days without voting anyone off. However, it didn’t play out this way. 

Witnessing the moral dilemmas each person had on the show was intriguing, and as I watched, I would often put myself in their shoes as well. Watching them contradict themselves and sacrifice their values is what made this show so intrinsically human – leaving the viewer at the edge of their seats, looking into a screen presenting behaviors not all that different from their own. 

Others have more of a superficial reasoning as to why they tune into reality TV shows, such as for when drama or conflicts arise. It not only is entertaining, but it makes them feel better about who they are as people. They could never imagine having a breakdown on national TV or envision themselves to be smarter than the people on reality TV. This unintentionally fosters a superiority complex within viewers, causing them to seek out more “garbage” reality TV.

Consuming and critically engaging with ‘garbage’ TV is by no means a bad thing. However, it is important to understand that although the people on screen can be presented as one-dimensional characters, there is more to them. It is crucial to be able to refrain from being so judgemental because who knows how you would be like in their situation? Being able to be mindful about that means you truly are tuned in with what reality is all about.