So television is now dominated by reality shows, some not so real. MTV has 16& Pregnant, Jersey Shore, The City, The Hills, all following real people in their “real” lives. VH1 has all the love shows; Flavor of Love, I Love New York, Rock of Love, Daisy of love, For the Love of Ray-J, Real Chance at Love (someone is creative with those names). Bravo has the Real Housewives Series; OC, New York, Atlanta, and New Jersey (love that one!). I think we get the picture. The thing is these shows don’t always portray people’s real lives. The love shows are taped in a couple of weeks and the couple doesn’t see each other for a few months afterward. No wonder those couples don’t stay together. The shows that follow groups of people in the same town aren’t very accurate either. The station is trying to make a dramatic show. Most of those people wouldn’t even be together if they weren’t all on the same show.

All these shows spawn little reality stars. Some of them cross over and star in their own show. They get 20 minutes of fame now days. What kind of examples are these shows setting for the youth of our country? I already wrote about teen pregnancy, but people on these shows have copious amounts of sex with people they “love” after only knowing them for a week or two. MTV has a whole subsite for talking about sex. I wonder why kids and teenagers don’t understand the true meaning of love!!! The couples created by these shows do not create monogamous and committed relationships, and as I write this I can think of a show that has exemplified these points almost every second (The City with Jay or Millionaire Matchmaker). Cheating seems to be a huge problem in relationships in modern times as well (Tough Love Couples, Cheaters, Laguna Beach=Jessica and Jason, and many more).

Another thing that is really prevalent in these reality shows is plastic surgery. In the Real Housewives Shows they had Botox parties and have consultations with plastic surgeons. There is Dr. 90210 which follows the lives of a few plastic surgeons. True Life: I Hate My Plastic Surgery follows people who dislike their botched surgeries or the health problems caused by their surgeries so much that they have to get second surgeries to fix the problems. All girls who watch The Hills or engage in lunchroom talk on Wednesdays know who Heidi Montag is. She had a ton of plastic surgery and looked fine. Then she went back and paid for a whole new body. She is the ugliest crier I have ever seen because her face doesn’t move at all. She said on the show “I actually want H’s [bra size] for Heidi.” She wanted such large breast implants that they didn’t fit into her body. That is a fantastic role model for body image. NOT! Here are some plastic surgery facts.






I watch reality TV, but I understand it’s not completely true. It’s more like an autobiographical novel, based on fact but doesn’t strictly follow the facts.