Every week, Jo Hemmings, Behavioural and Celebrity Psychologist, will give her analysis on a topical news story, a celebrity scoop or a relevant piece of research in a way that you will be able to relate to in your own lives. As a Relationship Coach, who has counselled singles, couples and celebrities as well as having had regular appearances on TV analysing the behaviour of A-Listers through to reality TV contestants, Jo’s unique psychological spin will have you hooked! You can also find Jo on Twitter.
Reality TV – what’s the real appeal?
By
2 comments
With the run up to Christmas, reality TV shows are in their frenzied element. Whether you’re following Strictly Come Dancing, Young Apprentice, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and/or X Factor, there is hardly a single evening during the week or at weekends, when there isn’t something on TV to titillate every possible taste.
It was only a few years ago that TV channels and producers were bemoaning the dumbing down of TV shows, promising to invest more in documentaries and dramas for the more discerning palate. But then that was before the recession bit hard of course. The truth is that reality TV is (relatively) cheap, formulaic, and addictive and attracts lucrative sponsorship deals and mouthwatering ad break budgets.
But even in spite of the economic doom and gloom – or perhaps because of it – viewing figures for these shows remain pretty constant and it seems that there is no end to our appetite for them. But why? What is their real appeal?
Reality TV enables us to experience a range of emotions that real life doesn’t generally bring. We can feel joy, sorrow, laughter, shock, surprise and devastation in any one bite sized hour. Watching these shows helps identify us as part of a community – a tribe – that identifies with one camp or another.
We may feel that we’re a ‘Strictly’ person as opposed to an ‘X Factor’ type, which may give us something to discuss at work the next day or indeed bring us together as a family. And it’s perfectly acceptable, indeed encouraged, to have a favourite contestant within each individual show and more often or not, one we can’t stand or want to see evicted. Watching these shows and being vocal about them, whether on Facebook or Twitter or to our family and friends, is in fact cathartic. It allows us to express emotions towards contestants on our TV that we could never do in real life. It helps us manage our emotions.
Media psychologists have even coined the phrase ‘humilitainment’ for the sort of feelings that we have when someone is suffering in the jungle or is berated by a judge for their performance. And indeed some psychologists report that the indirect aggression that we reveal when we watch reality TV – whether that’s eye-rolling, sending a barbed Tweet or simply being sarcastic or critical with friends and family – can in fact make us more aggressive in real life.
Interestingly, my experience as a media psychologist, would suggest that the reverse is true. Most of us are aware that contestants are not obliged to do tasks or tests, or indeed to appear on these shows in the first place. They often go through some pretty undignified experiences in order to raise money for charity, resurrect their own flagging careers or contribute to a sense of teamwork and community within the show itself.
We’re very used to seeing one dimensional celebrities in the papers and on TV, often styled or airbrushed to within an inch of their lives and actually seeing them in a reality TV show, makes them appear much more three dimensional and real. These shows encourage extremes of emotion for sure, but that is just as likely to be empathy and affection as much as it is hatred and criticism.
We have also become much more demanding in our viewing habits. When X Factor seemed to be manufacturing sob stories or rows between judges, to encourage more viewers, we actually started turning off. We may enjoy lighthearted entertainment but we don’t want to be made fools of.
Whether you’re a fan of these sorts of shows or not, it’s highly unlikely that they’re going anywhere any time soon – in fact I think that if they are well made and skilfully produced, they are actually one of the best and most entertaining antidotes to shorter evenings, colder weather and our current miserable economic forecast!
Comments