The X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing, Fame Academy, American Idol, I’m a Celebrity Get me Out of Here, Big Brother, Dancing On Ice, Hells Kitchen; if you haven’t heard of any of these programmes you must have been in a coma and have just come around, you’re a recluse and you live in a cave or you have been wading through a jungle in Vietnam, not yet realising that the war is over.

Reality television is at its peak at the moment and you either love it or you love it but pretend you hate it; locking yourself away on a Saturday night, in a basement somewhere, pretending to watch the Discovery Channel. So what is it that has our 21st Century Generation hooked on watching other people’s lives?

After the DIY and “Changing Rooms” generation in 2001, and after critically acclaimed success in the Netherlands, Big Brother made its way onto our television screens and took the UK by storm. Never before had we seen something so unique and yet revealing from a television show and, presented by Davina McCall, Big Brother became more than a television show on C4; it became an international phenomenon. But why?

People had become bored with the recycled jokes and the predictability of sitcoms and drama. The new reality TV shows were a blank canvas on to which a creative arena that played out in unpredictable ways was created. Reality TV shows appealed to people because of how easy it was for the audience to relate to the contestants as they were real people; not scripted characters.

Some would argue that reality television shows were not actually about “reality”. But of course, they are as close to reality as any dramas and soaps that are purely designed and acted. Which is worse? The argument also extends as far as saying that reality television is cheap TV and that no one needs to be qualified to appear in the shows. But is that not a good thing, since it gives ordinary people a change to have their 15 minutes of fame? Some of the contestants on X Factor can sing really well and if it wasn’t for the show we would never have heard of them and the nation would miss out on their talent.

Big Brother: never before had we been able to look into other people’s lives through the medium of television. Never before had we had the ability to spy on their every move 24/7. We could see what they had for breakfast, what they talked about, see them in the shower and even in bed. The contestants on the show were vulnerable and were in the hands of the nation; not knowing what the public were thinking or what was happening in the outside world. And this gave us a feeling of superiority and most of all, power over their lives.

We had talent shows such as Popstars and Pop Idol that allowed us to see, first hand, into an audition room where we could see the good, the bad and the ugly. We laughed at people’s expense if they couldn’t hold a note and cringed when their voice cracked. We were then able to follow them through the “boot camp” until they made it to the live shows and, again, we had
control of their lives and their destiny through voting.

What makes reality television so gripping is the way we get to see other people’s life’s and see how different they are compared to our own. We may think we know our friends but, if we could see them through a camera in their own homes, we would easily be able to see a different side to them; a side that we wouldn’t have seen before. Reality television shows how real people react to different situations; fear, romance, embarrassment and even anger- and as an audience we get to see how it all pans out- a real-life soap opera with real people, real drama and real situations.

But what many people like most about reality television is when celebrities get involved. These are the people that we watch on television every day, the people we listen to on the radio, the people who read the news to us and even the people who run our country. We get to pick up people with a little bit of money and status and place them in a house together, on ice, or even
in the middle of the Australian jungle without their stylists, computers and entourage. We know how clever these people are, how good they can sing and how good they can act; but we rarely ever get to see how they handle situations, how they walk across a ravine, dress up in silly costumes and sky dive. As humans we love watching celebrities out of their comfort zone, away from the necessities of everyday life and see how they react in a situation where they are out of their depths and either cope well or break down under the pressure.

So whether we are watching people sing in front of judges, live cramped in a house, attempt to dance on live television, cook for a restaurant full of celebrities, or camp out in a jungle; as a nation we thrive on it and reality television will always continue to feature in the news, in the tabloids, in magazines and, most importantly, on our televisions.

This article was kindly contributed by the kind folks over at Dilated Mind. Thanks!