Not so real-ity TV.

    Reality TV is something I've never bought into. It seems almost absurd to me that people can be so detached or distanced from their own lives, that they would spend 22 minutes glancing into someone else's apparently real life. Whether it's watching clueless rich people on The Hills, clueless teenagers reeking of irresponsibility on Teen Mom or 16 and Pregnant, or clueless Italians on Jersey Shore, America seems to enjoy a seemingly voyeuristic take on what's considered 'reality'. The catch is, that even though some (most, probably) of these shows are admittedly scripted, viewers still get a kick out of whatever wacky SITUATION the Jersey Shore cast gets tossed into that week.
    Personally, I don't pay attention to any such shows, dividing my television viewing time amongst sports, and scripted (or semi scripted, partially improvised) comedies, ie: It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Parks and Recreation, and Community. At least these shows are fiction marketed as fiction as opposed to fiction marketed as reality.
    Reality television has become something of a pop culture phenomenon. Normal people are thrust into the spotlight and are hailed as celebrities, without doing much of anything. And society rewards this. Hard working people such as myself, or even you (unless, somehow, you're Kim Kardashian and you've stumbled upon this...this is doubtful though) have to struggle to make ends meet, work overwhelmingly hard and still may not make as much money as some of these people do. The message this sends to today's youth is this; 'do nothing, gain everything'.

Are you attractive? You can make it on tv.
Do you have a certain quirk that can be deemed as entertaining to mass audiences? You can make it on tv.
Do you disparage other people and try to stir up controversy? Yep, you can make it too.
Even if you're not attractive, but posess the other 2 qualities...., well,

Thanks, MTV.