Most reality television shows these days
seem to have ‘small print’ somewhere actually letting people know that the
programme is far from reality and events have been staged to make the ‘show’
more interesting. Where their definition of interesting encompass words like
confrontational, sensationalist, hurtful, rude, inflammatory etc.
But since as a ‘species’ we’re pretty
bad at reading the small print – I often pause to wonder if the youth of today actually
believe that because it’s called ‘reality’ that this must actually be how life
is in the world in general and hence they adapt their behaviours to ‘fit in’
with this reality.
In an article for ABC Nightline, Andrea
Canning and Elizabeth Stuart highlight how “a slap here, a table flip there,
and if we're lucky, an all-out brawl -- violence was once just a scene-stealer
on today's reality shows, but it now has become a part of some stars' real
lives. Stars from the hit MTV reality show "Teen Mom 2" are the latest
to fall into controversy for fighting.
Janelle Evans, 19, was arrested Sunday
after video surfaced of her punching another woman at her Oak Branch, N.C.
hometown. She was charged with simple assault and simple affray, ABC affiliate
WWAY reported. In the video, Evans can be seen attacking her former friend,
Brittany Truett, as others can be heard urging them on in the background.”
The problem isn’t just the basic
violence and abuse but that believe it or not more people tune in to see it. “Last year, ‘Jersey Shore’ aired a video of
Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi being punched in the face by a man at a bar to promote
its upcoming season. Not only did the video go viral online, it helped double
the show's ratings from the previous season.”
Now what has this got to do with
business one might ask. Well, I’d say everything – what are we teaching the
next generation about ‘real’ reality in the work place – what are we teaching
them in respect of how to develop interpersonal relationships, how to deal with
conflict, how to communicate with your peers, customers etc.
Stacey Kaiser a psychologist who has
appeared on reality TV shows is worried that people's perception of reality are
altered when they watch these shows. "Things that we used to look away
from are things that we now watch on television on a daily basis," she
said. "It sends a message to viewers that it’s something that's socially
acceptable to our society these days."
Known for sparking up vicious fights on
"The Hills," Jayde Nicole said looking back, she was embarrassed by
her behaviour, but that some of the blame had to lie with the show's producers.
"The producers have a big role in what's happening on the show," she
said. "They create a lot of drama and they start a lot of the
fights...they will say so and so said this about you behind your back, and she
said she slept with your boyfriend. It's like high school."
Psychologist Stacy Kaiser said that the
unusual situations that reality shows force their participants into can
sometimes be detrimental to them. "I like to parallel some of these
reality shows to a caged tiger that is used to being in the wild," she
said. "They're being watched all the time, they start to feel anxious,
they start to feel aggressive and they begin to behave in ways that are way
more extreme."
Of course reality-based television is
not new, of course. Alan Funt, with his 1948 TV series Candid Camera is often
credited as reality TV's first practitioner. In fact, he started a year earlier
with Candid Microphone on radio. Truth or Consequences started in 1950 and
frequently used secret cameras. Both of these two pioneering series created
artificial realties to see how ordinary people would respond; the reality
series of today borrow a lot from these precedents and differ mostly in scope
and locale. A number of "who am I?" game shows accommodated the
clunky nature of early TV technology by bringing real people into the studio.
What's My Line premiered in 1950; I've Got a Secret in 1952; To Tell the Truth
in 1956. These shows seem tame by today's standards, but were certainly cutting
a new edge in the 1950s. The judge who married Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller
appeared live on What's My Line within a week of performing the wedding. Even
in the earliest days, the camera roamed out of the studio occasionally with
film technology. You Asked For It took the viewer to amazing sights and spectacular
phenomena as early as 1950.
So is TV negatively influencing
behaviours, especially in the young, which could be detrimental to their own
careers going forward – as they misunderstand the basics in interpersonal
skills? And if it is, is it something we as, business people, entrepreneurs, managers,
leaders should concern ourselves with? Or are we happy to make it someone else’s
problem – simply telling ourselves that we wouldn’t recruit these degenerates
in the first place.