I’ll admit it…not only do I watch reality TV, I actually enjoy it. There I said it. Judge me if you will but it’s true. I’ll even take it a step further and say that I look forward to certain days of the week when my favorite shows are on.
Now I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that I’m not the only one. I’ll bet that many of you reading this do as well. It’s okay – you can admit it. You can be an intelligent, thoughtful, informed, insightful person and still openly enjoy the mindless pleasure of reality television.
Of course, the term “reality TV” is somewhat broad. There are different categories of it – some deemed acceptable, like “The Bachelor,” and others labeled complete trash (um, “Naked Dating”, anyone?). But regardless of what side of the spectrum you enjoy the most, watching a few reality shows can actually be good for you. For example, there are times when I finish watching one of the “Real Housewives of wherever” shows that I think to myself, “Damn, I’m actually doing pretty well!” or even, ”Hey! I’m not screwing up my life and kids as much as I thought!”
The bottom line is reality TV is entertaining. And while I find most of the shows (ironically) not very realistic, they do make me laugh and/or keep my attention – I’m usually interested in seeing the outcome of the show week to week. Take “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette”, for example. I don’t know about you, but when I was single my dates were more than likely NOT with a hot, single doctor from the mid-west who fell in love with me after our first date, which just so happened to be in a helicopter flying into a volcano in Hawaii.
Just sayin’.
But while I can’t relate to it, I find it fun to watch these “real” romances develop on screen. I can’t wait to see what happens each week and quite frankly, it’s fun to try and guess who will “win” in the end. For those of you who say it isn’t real and it’s all pre-planned, I say “who the hell cares!?! Get the stick out of your ass and enjoy the damned show!” It’s fun to watch and talk about the next day, even if it is scripted a little bit or scenes are set up and re-shot from time to time. As long as you aren’t expecting the same results from your own dating life, what’s the harm? It’s just a TV show and in some cases a damn good reason to throw a “watch the finale” get-together!
So in the end, the whole experience can be entertaining, informative and also very life affirming. What’s not to like? So stand up and proudly say, “I like reality TV and I’m not going to be ashamed of it anymore!” find the shows that suit you and watch away!
