Polls show craze over Reality TV shows
Peeping Tom is no longer just a dirty term used to describe perverts in trench coats.
The term has begun to apply to much of America’s television-viewing audience.
American reality television as we know it today began when MTV filmed the result of several total strangers from diverse backgrounds living and working together.
A decade later, the reality bandwagon has become crowded, as nearly every major network has joined the reality realm.
In upcoming seasons, viewers will have reality options from watching couples wreck their relationships on Fox’s “Temptation Island,” to more grub munching on “Survivor II.” The story lines for the shows are not getting any less dramatic.
CBS has announced a race around the world.
And next fall, NBC plans to send someone to a space station in “Destination Mir,” Broadcasting and Cable Magazine reported.
Whether the location is Australia or outer space, the goal is the same: Keep audiences glued to the screen.
The networks are basing hopes largely on the success of CBS’s “Survivor.” The show’s ratings have kept “Friends” at bay, with an average audience of 29.4 million viewers and a Nielsen preliminary household rating of 17.6 – 8.2 million more viewers than “Friends,” which rated 13.5, CNN reported.
“It is intriguing to watch people screw their lives over,” said Cindy Church, a senior at USU and a “Real World” fan said. “I’m a girl. I like trauma.”
Wendi Morales, also a “Real World” watcher, agreed. “I like how they put different personalities together,” she said. “It is half fantasy, half real. The emotions are real, but what lead up to the emotions was set up.”
While Church enjoys “The Real World,” she believes reality TV is just a fad. “I think it will die out because everyone is doing it at once. Pretty soon the audience will boycott them. I am already sick of them, and it’s just the beginning of the season.”
Despite the growing popularity of the shows, there are some who believe the reality fad is a national psychological disorder.
Fad or voyeurism disorder, it looks like reality shows are here for another season at least.
The first episode of “Survivor II” scored a 23.6 rating with Nielsen Media Research – almost a quarter of the nation’s TV homes were tuned in, CNN reported.