Reality Shows: Their Effect on American Teens

Their Effect on Ameri muckle teenageds Martha W every(prenominal)ace ENG 122 English Composition II Professor Kathy Conner prideful 8, 2011 The re grades of our forefathers for America bugger off disappe ard. from apiece star social sieve more and more of American children atomic number 18 adjudicate themselves based upon the lives portrayed in usual media. legitimate media in the music industry portrays the animateness of acquiring rich fast and having a spread of girls. Movies render a life of fast cars, m any(prenominal) cozy partners, and dish peerlesssty. The latest media that has be induct very popular in portraying negative apprizes Is world presents. candor fork outs fox replaced tralatitious family values wows such as skilful days, Seventh Heaven, The Cowboys Show, Family Matters, and G lineing Pains. Todays family values be direct being portrayed through registers like holding up with the Sardinian, Teen Moms, The Real World, Jersey Shore, an d all of the Real Housewives makes. Reality takes have changed the stylus American teens idea family and the values of conglutination, satin flower, and abide by. Todays teen bestriders work out marriage as a commitment in the midst of two throng who be in cut. Once the love is g one and only(a), the marriage is over. On the opposite hand, rough braggys may commemorate polarly.Marriage is non Just the result from love amongst two great deal. There is much more to it. A successful marriage is like a just recipe whose main ingredients, besides love, are commitment, concord, continue and loyalty. If you can include these qualities In your conjoin life you can find happiness In your marriage. nonetheless, the hereafter of the stability In American marriage Is soft decaying. Adults and teens alike are visualiseing marriage In a different right smart. This view Is being persuaded by new picture shows called Reality television. It Is a know fact the media pla ys an important part In how teens view themselves and others.Al around every person in the united States has additional to television and the smaller generation is the ones who honour it the approximately (Cheeseboard, 2003, parity bit 4). Considering the average teen spends more m watching television than with their parents. The majority of them are similarly analyzeing slightly the basic values of life, in any case from television. This bring roughly a serious bear on of naturalism shows effects on teens attitude, values, and behavior. The traditional family value of marriage is portrayed on naive realism shows as an option for couples who are living together.The humans show retentivity up with the Sardinian is a absolute example of his part of arrangement. champion of the older sisters, Courtney, currently lives with her boyfriend and when approached by a nonher slang request her why she refuses to get conjoin. Courtney replies, Im not sure If he Is really th e one (Bravo, 2011, Para 2). When her mother approaches her about the same thing, Courtney replies, Mom, Im lust not Into ten traditional things (Bravo, 2011, Para harmonise to David Opened, a Rutgers sociology professor and storey co-author, Cohabitation is here to stay.I dont think it is sizeable news, especially for children, he says, As society shifts from arraign to co-habitation, which is whats happening, you have an go on in family instability Canyons, 2005, Para 8). The reality shows that have married couples on it either end up in divorce, the wife shows no respect for her husband, or one spouse cheats on the other. These are the lessons reality shows are teaching American teens today. The broadcasting station, Bravo, has a serial publication of shows titled, The Real Housewives of some very popular cities in America. One of those cities is Atlanta.This reality show is about half a dozen women who are married or were once married. The show aired for three course of instructions detailing the lives of women who were to take on the real lives of American married women living in Atlanta. Only one of the six was actually married and before the end of the three year series, she was file for a divorce. Americans by the million were tuning in each week to watch the drama unfold. According to Nelson Media Research, 4. 4 million viewers watched the shows season consequence January 30, 2011 and 1. 3 million of those viewers were under the age of 18 (2011).What does this mean for the future of marriage? some teenagers no longer look ship to their conjoin day. In fact in a intercourse with teenagers through a youth organization, Youth for Prevention, Action, and reposition Through Thought (HAPPY), which aims to develop community leaders by teaching teens about social, racial, and health disparities in their neighborhoods, worldy of them do not chatter the pack for marriage. One role player stated, Im not looking forward to marriage and I dont t hink we the great unwashed in general should be married, because I see how other marriages ended up in my family and on television.Its always a disaster. When asked which television shows she mainly watches, she replied, Reality shows, they ell you how life really is, Cones, 2006, Para 2). As this tens comments indicate, views about marriage are form by what they see in their lives and in popular media. Shows such as The Real World and the medias concentre on the latest celebrity break-up do not paint a perfect picture of marriage. It is a sign of the growing decline in the value of one of the greatest institutions developed in America. It is these factors that may explain why the U.S. Divorce rate approaches 40 percent. Marriage is not the only when American value which seems to be affected by reality shows, silver dollar s another value among teenagers that is almost lightless and reality shows does not appear to make the view any clearer. There was a time when a man was held to his word and a handshake was the only deed required. Those days are long gone. No one can trust the other. Prenuptial are written before marriages, contracts are required between businesses, and even teenagers are signing contracts with parents.One reality show, Teen Moms, broadcasted a show which detailed a written contract between one teen and her parents. The endeavor of the contract was to validate the parents language to help their lady friend financially after she gives birth to he child. Reality television shows and their effects on teenagers can opine on the desires and motives they see themselves in these stars and somehow these stars are living their lives through the show. Each reality show portrays and fulfills indisputable desires like powerful high class living, survival and outwitting others, beauty, revenge Ana amnesty.Many teenagers enjoy a certain(prenominal) sense AT pleasure Ana satisfaction when they watch these reality television shows and their effect s are unendingly mirrored in the way they interact with others, mound with various situations, and face certain challenges. According to the teens in HAPPY, the reality shows are entertaining Cones, 2006, Para 5). Yet, most of these shows are built upon other peoples failures, sadness, frustrations, depressions, and other psychical and physical handicaps. There are some reality shows that have a positive effect on tens lives.Broadcasting station, FOX, had a show, Trading Spouses, where two families, usually of different social classes, swap wives or husbands for a week. Each family is awarded $50,000, with the stipulation that the guest mother decides how her host family must(prenominal) spend the money (Schneider Italian, 2004). The adults show how families can come together and grow. It gives hope to the value of family and cleany. Each participant is required to react normally and to come to an understanding on how to handle differences.The children are given an fortune to articulate themselves and this usually results in their parents making some changes to include the opinions of their children. The parents come face to face with the honesty of some mishaps in their family and agree to make an honest effort to correcting them. These types of reality show effect teens in a positive way. For those mens that may not have been able to express their thoughts or opinions to their parents, the show gives them suggestions and allow them to see an honest possibility of the outcome.Most teenagers see their parents as difficult people to compromise with. This type of reality television shows the vulnerable side of parents and how they can make mistake too. Teens begin to see their parents as human and someone they can talk to. satinpod is rarely played out in reality shows, therefore our teens have a front row view of how to become a liar and shop people. Some of these wows are so deceitful it is serious to imagine someone would have agreed to be a partici pant.For example, Joe Millionaire, is a reality show where women contend to win the heart of a supposed millionaire. At the end, the women find out the Joe Millionaire is actually an Average Joe and have to decide if they want to stay with him. This show is probably one of the most bribable reality shows and wrong of them all. Teens and adults alike are shown ways to be dishonest and degrade the true meaning of finding love and honesty in an individual. Respect has great vastness in everyday life.As children we are taught ,one hopes, to respect our parents, teachers, and elders, coach rules and traffic laws, family and cultural traditions, other peoples feelings and rights, our countrys flag and leaders, the equity and peoples differing opinions (Dillon, 2010, Para 1). If we are to live by this commentary of respect, then reality shows has gotten it wrong. A study called, Kids These Days What Americans Really Think About the Next generation, surveyed 2,000 adults who charact erized teenagers and young children as irresponsible, rude, and lazy (Kids these days, 1997).Those words are scarcely new attitudes towards Americans youth. The reality show, Keeping up with the Sardinian, portrays a family with two teenage daughters who are often rude to their parents, constantly shows disrespect towards each other, and uses profanity towards their parents. This reality show is rated number one among teenagers in America. Yet this show, Keeping up with the Sardinian, shows very little respect towards the parents Trot any AT ten SIX centre vile language Is town across ten path Trot ten teen daughters, young adult children, their boyfriends, and the parents.There is no respect for other peoples feeling, rights or differing opinions. One particular episode, the teen daughters swore at her mother and told her protoactinium she will make her own decision and didnt charter his help. After consulting with his wife, they agreed to allow their 13 year old daughter to ma ke her decision on a career move that would affect her for the balance wheel of her life. This is not a good message to bill to teenagers today. Raising ones voice and slamming doors is not the way to gain respect.Yet, reality shows often show teenagers acting this way and the results are often the arenas bending the rules to allow the teens to make their own decisions. Showing respect is the best way for anyone to receive respect. Everyone should have an opinion, be able to express them and feel good about that relationship. No one should feel pressured to do something Just because it seems like everyone else is doing it, or because someone else is trying to get you to do it. Yet that is precisely what most reality shows are doing. Teens are being pursued to make decisions and react to certain things according to celebrities on reality television.The reality show reduced by MAT, The Real World, gave American Teens a real look at honor and respect in it episode featuring Pedro Som oza. Pedro Somoza was a young man chosen to be one of the six young adults sharing a house in overbold York City, who Just happened to have AIDS. Pedro died of the disease and America tuned in the watch every episode as it unfolded on television. This series of The Real World, New York taught some people the truth about AIDS. The effect this show had on American teens open their eyes to respect other people, taught valuable lessons on safe sex, and gave AIDS a new found respect.Since the rising of these popular reality elevation shows, American teens have changed the way they view entertainment. This genre has influenced the way teenagers express themselves. Considering legion(predicate) of these shows are geared towards teens, they are the ones who are more susceptible to its various influences. With each passing year more and more of American children are assessment themselves based upon the lives portrayed in popular media. certain(p) media portrays the life of getting rich fa st, having a lot of girls, a life of fast cars, many cozy partners, and dishonesty. There are not many good values portrayed in these reality shows.Yet, reality shows can give insight to teens about many different types of people and cultures. They can also take a crap teenagers for the outcome of bad choices people make about the values of marriage, honesty, and respect. The core role is to see what people reactions in certain scenarios are, and how they face these given situations. American teens can learn and apply these outcomes to their lives. They can learn about teamwork. They can become motivated in life to achieve their goals and can even followers a dream. References Dillon, S. (2010). Respect, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2010 Edition).