With record amounts of media now at our fingertips due to the surge of streaming services, viewers consume more media genres than ever.
One of the most popular is reality TV.
Kate Casey, podcast host of Reality Life with Kate Casey, posted a TikTok claiming that “Smart people watch reality shows because it’s analyzing personalities and behaviours.”
But how true is that?
Understanding the reality behind reality
Whether you are watching Ice Road Truckers or Survivor, hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of footage are recorded to create the show, yet you will only see a few hours collectively within a season.
This causes the over- or under-exaggeration of certain events and narratives when it comes time to produce the shows, often in an attempt to create higher viewership ratings.
However, sometimes, the inescapable reality of it all can have unexpected consequences.
Many studies that consider the effects of reality TV also tend to distinguish clearly between their participants: those who think reality TV accurately reflects reality and those who believe it is fake.
One study exploring the implications of reality television consumption during early adulthood found that viewers thought the programs were highly, moderately, or unrealistic.
Out of those who believed reality television accurately reflected reality, 64 per cent agreed that aggression was justified when provoked compared to the 29 per cent of agreers who thought reality television was fake.
The study also explored acceptance rates of sexualized aggression and found female participants who watched frequently were 32 per cent more likely to accept verbal abuse or aggression.
The implications of reality
Reality television cannot only promote bad behaviour but also influence how we view others based on appearances and reinforce pre-existing stereotypes.
A study looking into the promotion of problematic behaviour among reality cast members detected examples of popular shows within the reality sphere that reinforce the depiction of stereotypes for entertainment purposes and often encourage and reward it.
The study also discovered a correlation between cast members who participated in multiple seasons of a show and those who displayed increasing levels of problematic behaviour as they progressed. This suggests that participants either learned that bad behaviour would get them re-casted or that producers prioritized re-casting controversial participants.
From 2003 to 2019, 44 contestants of the reality competition show The Challenge who appeared in at least four seasons were assessed for increased negative or problematic behaviour.
The study found that the amount of interactions involving sexist, racist, or violent overtones had more than doubled per minute of screen time and that returning participants tended to escalate their behaviour each time they were re-cast.
Learning to recognize what’s real
Most studies currently explore the possible negative implications of consuming reality television, but some consider it an educational tool.
The unscripted nature of reality television allows for consumers to form attachments that feel more authentic to their favorite characters, making them “not merely viewers, but voyeurs, spying into the lives of “real people” (not actors) or of celebrities in “real life” (not acting),” according to a study exploring the possible educational applications of reality television.
While acknowledging problematic influences associated with reality television, the study argues that reality television can help foster critical thinking skills and cultivate cultural understanding and self-awareness.
Without digital and media literacy skills to know what is or isn’t real in reality television, there seems to be little opportunity to analyze themes and messages that can be helpful in our lives.
Implementing media literacy education and encouraging thoughtful discussions about the show can allow individuals to consume reality television more critically for entertainment and educational purposes.
Are you smart because you watch reality TV?
While one cannot assume they aren’t smart if they cannot tell if a show is fake, you also can’t think you are smarter simply because you watch reality television.
There’s no objective evidence one way or the other backing up Kate Casey’s claim that “Smart people watch reality shows.”
It’s hard to know if her claim is accurate or misleading.
Yet, across the board, there is one thing that can limit harmful influences while simultaneously offering a means to learn from reality television: media literacy.
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