Why Should We Stop Watching Love and Hip Hop & All Reality T.V.

Even if you don’t watch television very much, other than to catch up on your favorite dramas or comedies, you probably know that reality TV has taken over the airwaves. Since the 1980s, local networks have been producing and adapting reality shows but it only boomed during the late 90s. Now, it’s all everyone can talk about especially in social media.

Millions and millions of people turn in every week to watch reality. From the statistics, its mostly women watching reality TV. Let be honest, I used to watch as a guilty pleasure. I need a little drama in life. As I have grown over the years, I started to watch less of the reality trash. And as much as I indulged in my fair share of reality television, I decided enough was enough. And boy, am I glad I made that decision.

Yes, reality TV is damaging to our society.  And all of it is fake. But for some reason you keep tuning in week after week. What’s wrong with you? We already know the whole theory that it’s like watching a car crash. But why keep being part of the problem? Here, we run down 3 reasons reality TV still has everyone feeling like Pookie and Nookie.

1.Reality shows are not representative of reality:
Although they try their damnedest to look like real life, reality TV shows are the furthest from reality that you can get. Yes, they cast “real “people instead of professional actors as characters, but other than that, reality TV shows are completely scripted. Black women are making money off of being “drama queens” on shows like Basketball Wives, even if they’re not really that bad (or that extra) in real life.

2. Miss representation shows ugly side of women and men in our society:
seeing beautiful, talented, broken, misunderstood, hurt women and  invite me and millions of other Americans into scripted portions of their lives to judge, suck our teeth in disdain, laugh uncontrollably, whatever – as long as we were watching. A number of the reality television programs today promote selfishness. Every cast member wants to be the star, and will do almost anything to achieve that goal. Of course, the producers of the show promote this behavior because it makes for “interesting” TV, but that doesn’t mean it’s right.

3. The media is already distracting us from what is important, we all at least should know better than watching shows that  won’t benefit us in any way. Do the world a favor, drop the remote and read a book instead.
​
Trash reality tv doesn’t hold an  place in my entertainment schedule anymore. I’m looking toward what uplifts, motivates, inspires and showcases folks who have or are walking the same path as me. To each her own. But I’ve given positivity a permanent home.
​