Pierrette Mulumba
Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Date My Family. Living the Dream with Somizi. Big Brother. And now, Being Bonang. Reality TV has officially become a staple of popular culture although the issue of how ‘real’ the shows actually are still strongly contested. Nonetheless, we continue to be obsessed with watching the happenings in an individual’s life and the simple question is why? Why would we put a pause on our own lives just to watch someone else’s?
The allure that comes with reality TV simply comes down to the fact that it is presented as less orchestrated than your favourite soap opera, yet still possessing all the drama that you’d find in an episode of Days of Our Lives. Furthermore, reality TV gives you the opportunity to interact with an actual person and not your favourite fictional Games of Thrones character.
The choice of reality TV show that an individual makes can show glimpses of their personality. Fans of Idols and The Voice SA have a strong desire to achieve fame and fortune through their talents and often than not, they rarely do but that doesn’t seem to deter them. Also, fans of shows like Kabelo’s Boot Camp are most likely to be conscious of what they eat as well as their body image. Such shows subconsciously promote healthy eating however it can also create a biased attitude towards persons who are overweight.
The demand for reality TV is also due to its ability to turn a complete nobody into an instant celebrity overnight. This is evident with shows like Jersey Shore. However it’s not that easy. You have to have a certain je ne sais quoi to have cameras put in front of you and document your everyday life. A large Instagram following maybe?
As fun as it is to watch everything that goes on in someone else’s life, individuals who put their lives for all to see are somewhat naïve to the huge sacrifice they are making. Take Bonang for example. Following the release of her widely criticized memoir, people have taken to watching her show simply to point out her erroneous grammar when she speaks. Frankly when she does anything. Sadly though, when you open that door you can’t complain about who or what walks through. This behaviour of making fun of someone on camera is linked to the idea that the appeal of reality TV is about confidence boosting. We watch such shows simply to end the day with a higher view of ourselves.
Social media has a profound effect on the impact of reality TV. In a twisted turn of events, we might perceive the individuals we watch as our friends. We follow them on social media and they give their two cents on everything that goes on around them through one-on-one interviews called confessionals. These confessionals make us feel like they’re talking directly to us and make us feel important. Like we’re part of the inner circle and that is a great feeling.
