Reality TV Analysis

Why do people watch reality tv?

For many people it allows them to fantasize about gaining status through automatic fame. Many people will watch these reality tv shows and imagine how they could become famous by being on these shows. The fact that millions of people are watching all these reality tv shows means that the contestants are important, the the viewers want to see what happens to them next.
People who have been on these reality tv shows have capitalized on their own short-term celebrity: if these ordinary people can become famous, that means anyone can rise to fame.

The point of reality TV is to act as Entertainment, it is done so under the pretence of reality, and is fake in the sense that it is often dramatised or subjectively represented. The act of calling it reality gives interest to an audience and therefore an incentive to watch, which leads to views and profit. Reality TV is popular because it is cheap and easy to produce, and is a genre that almost guarantees a viewer base, therefore meaning fake reality TV is also common because drama sells. However, contrary to popular belief, not all reality TV is inherently fake. Most are at the very least edited in order to make the footage watchable and interesting, if it was not then you would find that reality is very mundane and boring.
There is reality to be found within reality TV as there is also scripting, but it is all in how that reality is presented, and whether or not it is being used to manipulate. Truly factual based reality TV does exist, and many of the early shows are, indeed, more akin to dramatised documentaries.