The Dilemma of reality (AWA Issue Analysis Exercise)

Issue: Reality shows are creating profound behavioral and moral effects on the young audience. There is a strong opinion that this effect is largely negative given the over usage of uncouth language and distasteful gossip. However, there are voices that also rubbish these concerns and attribute the content of these shows to the general sociological and behavioral changes in the society.
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The perception of our surroundings defines our reality. Reality shows are not anything new to the television history. They have been present right from the invention of TV. They were of course a little primal compared to what we have today. This concept of reality however has been altered and tailored to suit the benefits of the hosts even when overriding its benefits to the audience. This is definitely a concern we are supposed to mindful of and keep a check on from in order to prevent any adverse effects on society.

A reality show therefore by definition is what captures this reality and presents us in its natural view. It is sometimes presented as a raw picture and sometimes a more censored of defined program where in there are certain rules that contain the emotions and dangers present in the environment enabling them to viewable by wider audience.

The majority of reality shows however increase the sensationalism in content to engage the audience. In this process they often tend to cut corners or morality of the content and present a more distorted view of whats happening. Many of the individual malpractices like character assassinations, vulgar language, unethical and unmoral behavior find their place in these shows and subsequently we run the risk of accepting these into our society and redefine our thresholds for them.

The participants are of course a part of this or are the victims in this and they most often live up the expectation of the hosts. They are selected in such a manner that they will be able to deliver all the elements necessary for the entertainment rather then their suitability for the theme of the programs.

The environment in some of these shows becomes so dramatic that the very notion of reality ceases to exist. This has a profound impact on the minds of the viewers that they run the danger confusing their reality with these dramatizations.
This can in its worst case cause a large scale adoption and acceptability into the young audience thereby undermining the relative culture and decency of a community.

It is often felt that these programs reflect the cultural changes the society undergoes and we need not bother defining rules for them by some individuals. But this opinion is largely undermined by the fact that there is an increased imitation of the reality shows themes by the young and especially adolescent crowd.

This often makes one doubt the notion that TV shows reflect the society and rather note it as TV shows define the society.