Recovering Reality Addict Step One: A Pledge
Here’s a little confession for you: I like “The Real Housewives” series. And “The Hills.” And various other reality shows. Yep, I said it. And I’m gonna go ahead and say that I’m probably not the only (relatively) normal, well-educated young professional that likes this garbage. I said that too. GARBAGE.
That aside, it’s just entertainment, right?! Like most of us, I work very hard, I pay my bills almost always on time, and if I want a little brain candy on a Tuesday night for 30 minutes to an hour, I think I’ve earned the right. But what happens when Speidi jumps out of my television screen and invades entirely too much of my virtual space after their 15 minutes of fame should have expired? Because believe you me, these days, it is starting to feel like Spencer is everywhere. And I’m scared.
When reality television first came into existence, the “stars” served duty in their respective time slot and that was it. Sure, a few Real World starlets parlayed their status into college campus tours, and Trista and Ryan regaled a few US Weekly covers with their undying devotion to one another. But as time progressed, and reality shows gained momentum and overall ridiculousness (“The Search for the Next Elvira” was a real show at one point), reality stars ascended into a stratosphere of self-imposed fame, running amok among the legitimately famous like Frankenstein’s Monster. I can barely read NYMag.com anymore without seeing Jon Gosselin in an Ed Hardy t-shirt. How did this happen?!
To be honest, as much as it pains me to say it, we* did this. “We” tuned in to watch, “we” read Perez Hilton’s blog, and the next thing you know we’re following Bethenny Frankel on Twitter and learning how to make a Skinny Girl Margarita. Our devotion to these folks in an arena that should be reserved for those worthy of our time is what’s gotten us to this point. It’s like a slow decline into meth addiction that needs an “Intervention“-like breakthrough moment to pull us out.
As we all know, the last 2-3 years have been a tailspin of growth for more mediums of virtual entertainment, creating even more platforms for reality show participants to gain exposure, create spin offs, and remain overwhelmingly present in the virtual world. Katie Couric has 40,000 followers on Twitter. Heidi Montag has half a MILLION. Not to mention a slew of other ventures in the works: fashion, books, music all being “leaked” and routed through You Tube, Facebook and Tumblr. There is no escape from Mrs. Spencer Pratt.
Or is there?
I’m making a pledge: From here on out I pledge to be a responsible reality television viewer. I will put DOWN the remote once the show has ended and leave it at that. No more gossip blogs or TMZ.com. We too can be responsible participants in the world of social media, following The Michelle Obama News Twitter feed and not Whitney Port’s. Michelle’s hubby said it best: “YES WE CAN!”
I suppose the MTV producers knew putting Heidi on MTV was like giving alcohol to an alcoholic – this circus-like worship of reality celebs was the inevitable. Now it’s time to enroll in AA. Actually, make that RA.
*Please note that “we” is only referring to those of us that actually partake in reality entertainment.
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Melvin
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JD
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connor moore