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RoDreka Linebarger

Instructor: Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

October 26, 2017

Reality TV: Do Reality TV Call for a Reality Check?

So, Do Reality Tv call for a reality check? Good question, the world including myself are

wondering the same question. Have you ever wondered if watching shows like Jersey Shore, The

Real World, Kyles Life influence you in real life? Well for my end of the semester project I

choose this interesting topic to argue my opinion that reality TV do not impact young adults like

myself, and most definitely in teen girls. If you google the definition of reality TV you would

most likely get websites defining reality TV as ordinary people are continuously filmed,

designed to be more entertaining than informative. There are many opposite opinions out there

where studies were conducted to prove reality TV do have some type of negative effect on

adolescents. I started off by researching all information on the influences reality TV have on

teens.

First, I will be discussing the negative impacts the world see reality TV have on teens.

Then I will be going back and forth arguing the negative and positive views of reality TV. To get

started I have many reliable websites from published authors but this one website that may not be

a reliable source caught my eye, according to Penn state University PSYCH 424 class blog, an

article titled, Effects of Reality Television written by a future psychologist graduate from Penn

State discuss the effects of reality television. Is violence in reality television okay and is just

entertainment? Psych 424 class blog argues violence actions taken place on TV may be fake but
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young adolescents take that action very seriously. Of course, these reality tv shows are fun and

entertaining with lots of drama and fighting. But what are these reality TV shows everyone

talking about? Shows like The Real World, Teen Mom, Keeping up with the Kardashians, and

Duck Dynasty are only a few examples of the portrayed tv shows. Most of the reality shows are

viewed by young teen girls. Like myself I am 20 years old and a junior in college and I still love

a good episode of the Real World, and personally Jersey Shore's was one of my favorite tv

shows. I think I turned out pretty good I did not let a show define me or impact me anyway.

Can reality TV lead to domestic problems? Or Anger issues? We watch and see what

these reality stars are going through and I feel sympathetic. On shows like Teen Mom most of

those reality stars has been a victim of domestic violence and its sad because some young teens

are watching it and see how the reality stars react back to it and sometimes its not in a positive

light. For example, in Teen Mom reality star Kailyn Lowry was once involved in a physical

altercation with her boyfriend at the time (PSYCH 424). Even though the actress admitted her

wrongs and changed for the better, this example proves there still a problem with society and

showing the viewers that this kind of behavior is acceptable and just entertaining to watch. Does

this happen in real life? The author discusses they knew a girl from high school who had been in

a similar situation and because she watched Teen Mom and was believed that it was okay and

had basically justified the reality star actions, by saying she was under a bit of stress from taking

care of her child, where she just got to her breaking point. People who are against reality tv

watching would totally agree that this is a perfect example of how easy reality TV can

manipulate young teens.

Does reality TV compare to the social cognitive theory? Penn State PYSCH 424 class

blog thinks so they clarify that social cognitive theory gives an understanding of why actions
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may be imitated. The media portrays these outrageous actions as being acceptable in the world

but sometimes the actions are imitated because theyre seen as realistic. Both sides can agree that

the safety of the viewers is most important issue and how they may react after viewing these

shows for the safety of themselves and others. One of the main points in this article the author

stating, If the media is showing domestic violence to be acceptable, then many viewers are

going to view domestic violence as acceptable behavior. I take on the impression the author is a

female because she writes, just like many other women, I get interested in reality television

shows as well. She talks about how she too enjoys the drama but does not justify behavior that

should not be acceptable. Making this an okay situation can cause results in a lifetime of harmful

behaviors.

According to ScienceDaily, a new study finds MTVs reality TV programs, 16 and

Pregnant and Teen Mom help decrease in U.S teen childbearing rate and teen pregnancies.

This is great news; teen birth rate fell a great bit between the years 2008 and 2012. See not only

do reality TV impact teens in a good way but help decrease unwanted teen pregnancies and

educate young teens on the safety and consequences of unprotected sex. Despite the negativity

and concerns of others that shows like 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom are turning teen moms

into reality stars is now glamorizing teen pregnancy, a new study shows a humongous impact in

a more positive direction. The research finds that MTVs 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom led to

a 5.7 percent reduction in teen births, which accounts for around one-third of the overall decline

in teen births in the year and a half following the shows introduction in 2009 (Levine, Kearney).

The statistics shows that these programs are wonderful ways to educate the youth and even my

15-year-old sister and I watch these shows and view how hard teen pregnancy looks and how it

would change our lives forever, honestly this is one of the best show ideas MTV has had in a
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while. I would recommend this show to all young teen girls. This study was obviously a big deal

because it was published by the National Bureau of Economic Research on January 13th, 2014.

What made teen birth rate rank decline dramatically over the past 20 years? Researchers

showed that the Great Recession played the biggest role, but coming in second is the introduction

of MTVs teen pregnancy shows, my theory is that these young teens are watching these shows

and are terrified of getting in the same situation at a young age and having to either deal with it

one way or another. Two ways are growing up early and taking on full responsibilities of taking

care of a baby when you yourself are still a baby, or sadly having an abortion, or a third option

having a baby and giving it up for adoption. Really to me comparing the girls on the show to

myself, that is a big decision to make and sometimes we make mistakes, but I know as a viewer

of those teen pregnancy shows that those girls went through a lot and either way they had to

grow up a lot faster than girls who are abstinent. To determine how much of an impact the shows

have on teens, researchers Kearney and Levine conducted an empirical study, analyzing several

measures of exposure, including Nielsen ratings data and metrics from google and the social

media site Twitter. I really enjoyed reading this article because adolescents can relate to the topic

and the study since we all love our social media sites and who doesnt love to tweet?

After conducted their research they found that searches and tweets about birth control and

abortion happened exactly around the time the show is on and in locations where it is more

popular.

According to Professor Levine, Our use of data from Google Trends and Twitter

enable us to provide some gauge of what viewers are thinking about when they

watch the show. We conclude that exposure to 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom
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was high and that it had an influence on teens thinking regarding birth control

and abortion.

They of course hypothesized correctly, their findings were as to be expected 16 and pregnant,

teen mom & teen mom 2 led teens to prohibit sexual activities at a young age that can lead to teen

pregnancies. They estimated that these shows led to a 5.7 percent reduction in teen births.

Speaking for the teen births that would have been conceived between June 2009, when the show

began and the end of 2010.

As I quote, Sarah Brown, CEO of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned

Pregnancy, The entertainment media can be, and often is, a force for good. She is right, I

believe that it only affects you if you let it. Everyone can agree on that MTV drew in these teens

who were at risk of teen pregnancies and educated them and fed them important information that

changed their behavior and preventing them from making the wrong mistakes and also dodging

the bullet of giving birth at such a young age. I very appreciated this article because it helps

prove to the public who only concern to speak on negative influences of media exposure, but

with the help of this article and their conducted study, which shows positive influences of reality

tv can be shown as well.

Back on the other hand, everyone is dying to know how real is the Real World? according

to thepsychreport and the author, Mark Flynn of this article, Reality TV and Body Image: The

Not So Real World, point of how perfectly fitted the actors were. A world full of lean bodies,

large breasts, and six packs. Basically, stating it was more a world based more in a fantasy than

fact. Knowing that many viewers, that are on the heavier side, and especially teens idealizing

theses cast members believing that theyre reflection of normal. These misperceptions can

correlate with loads of problems, low self-esteem to eating disorders and/or depression/anxiety.
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To prove a point, Flynn colleagues and he proposed their own study. By analyzing the most

popular MTV shows from the years 2004-2011, which including reality shows like the Real

World, The Hills, and Jersey Shore. Their methods were that they watched more than 90

episodes, 47 hours of MTV. Taking notes on each cast member body types and how often they

were on display. Their findings were that there was an ideal image these producers were looking

for, women were to be slender with only 69 percent having low body fat and median to large

bust sizes. Male cast members were lean men with 74 percent have low body fat, these men were

the opposite they were big muscular, v shape body. I dont totally disagree with this part I

believe that there is always a type of actor or actress that there looking for to play that perfect

part, with the perfect little body and for the guy being all chiseled.
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Works cited
PSYCH 424 blog. Powered by Sites at Penn State WordPress

sites.psu.edu/aspsy/2014/03/24/effects-of-reality-television/.

Reality TV Has Positive Impact on Viewers. Newswise = Smart News Connection,

www.newswise.com/articles/reality-tv-has-positive-impact-on-viewers.

Wellesley College. "New study finds MTVs '16 and Pregnant,' 'Teen Mom' contributed to

record decline in U.S. teen childbearing rate." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 January

2014. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140113095145.htm/