There was a time when reality T.V. was nothing more than game shows and contests in which people competed to win prizes. Then reality T.V. branched out to shows like Survivor, Big Brother, and Fear Factor. These were still nothing more than game shows in a sense. This was people competing against other people. Now, though, reality T.V. has gone too far in showing nothing but peoples’ everyday lives, for the entertainment of others. Shows like Laguna Beach, My Super Sweet Sixteen, and The Surreal Life have no depth to them at all. There is nothing these shows try to achieve other than letting people know how wealthy, spoiled, and over-pampered teenagers and adults spend their day. What makes shows like these even worse are the overly dramatic situations that the people in them try to portray.

There is no way shows like these can be realistic. Having a camera in your face all day is not reality. One may say the same thing about Survivor and shows like that. The difference is that in those shows they are competing for something, and there is no acting, or over-dramatizing – that competitive edge that is in everyone. The contestants are not pretending to act this way in their everyday normal lives.

What is even worse than the characters of reality T.V., though, is the attempts of producers to make it more dramatic. The careful placement of music to reflect the mood of the show is something these producers do way too much in reality T.V. Last time I checked, Kelly Clarkson did not play in the background when my girlfriend and I got into an argument. How is that reality?

“All you hear people in college talk about is how they love being out of high school and away from the drama, so I think its stupid that people want to watch reality T.V. about nothing but drama-filled kids in high school;” said junior Brandon Sexton. I agree. We need to grow up. We are out of high school and in college; we need to stop drooling over other people’s high school lives.

Although it is not about high-schoolers, The Surreal Life is a show that should never be aired again. This is nothing but a futile attempt by washed up actors, singers, athletes, and models to re-energize their careers. I think they should realize that if they are on The Surreal Life, it’s too late, their career is done, and there is nothing they can do about it.

Another horrible trend in reality T.V. is shows about rich people.

“I don’t want to watch people who have more money than I do, and can do whatever they want to with it, because daddy just gives it to them,” said first-year Andy Orr. “I don’t watch T.V. to get pissed off.”

Again, I agree. Not too many people turn on the T.V. wanting to get mad.

Reality T.V. has pushed the limits, and now they have gone too far. Watching people do nothing more than dramatically act out their everyday lives is sad. I don’t understand why someone would want to watch things on T.V. that happen in their life everyday, unless they just enjoy watching it happen to people with more money and have sappy, moody music playing in the background.

Reality T.V. is not reality anymore.