Relationship Between Reality TV Shows & Teenage Behavior

Teenage Sexuality

• In a 2004 issue of "Pediatrics," Rebecca L. Collins, senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corp., and her colleagues presented the results of a survey that measured the amount of sexual explicit television that teenagers watched and how much sexual experience the teenagers had had at a one-year follow up survey. They found that teenage exposure to sexual content on television shows increased the likelihood of initiating sexual acts and the effect of shows that depicted sexual behaviors and those that just discussed sex had the same effect on teenage audiences. Similarly, in a 2008 edition of "Pediatrics," Anita Chandra, a behavioral scientist at the RAND Corp., and her colleagues released the results of a survey conducted over a three-year period that measured teenagers&' exposure to sexual content on television and any resulting first-hand experience with pregnancy. They found that teenagers who regularly watch television programs containing a significant amount of sexual behavior are two times more likely to become pregnant or impregnate someone than those teenagers who do not watch programs with sexual content.

  While many reality television programs make heavy use of relationship themes and sexual issues, they do not often show the negative side effects from engaging in risky sexual behaviors.

Gender Roles

• The material presented in reality television shows also seems to reinforce many stereotypical gender roles. Reality shows often depict women as calculating and over-emotional, while men are frequently depicted as aggressive and competitive. Academic studies have yet to study the specific correlation between teenage behavior and the depiction of gender roles on reality television, but a study conducted by Karen E. Dill of the Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California, and Kathryn P. Thill of Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina and published in a 2007 issue of "Sex Roles" found that the teenagers they surveyed developed opinions of gender roles that mirrored the sexist gender roles present in the video games they played.

Alcohol Consumption

• The consumption of alcohol, sometimes in excess, is also a frequent mainstay of many reality television shows. Many programs include segments that show the main characters drinking, partying and engaging in rambunctious behavior, but they fail to show to the consequences that the characters must face for these actions. When teenagers see these types of behaviors, they might be led to believe that they too should consume large amounts of alcohol and act in a similar manner.

Eating and Eating Disorders

• The characters included in most reality television shows are attractive and physically fit. Yet, there is a clear disconnection between the food and activities in which these people partake and their appearances. As teenagers strive to be like the people they watch on television, eating disorders are a potential result. This alternate reality that teenagers have entered changes the way in which they perceive themselves and how their bodies should look.

Violence and Aggression

• Violence in the media is frequently a concern for parents, and that which is shown on reality television programs is no exception. Reality television shows often show violent or aggressive acts and then fail to show any negative side effects or consequences from these actions. In this way, aggression is depicted as a permissible act because there are no repercussions and little attention may be paid to the victim. In the March 29, 2002 edition of "Science" magazine, Jeffrey G. Johnson of Columbia University in New York and his colleagues presented the findings of 17-year long study that surveyed teenagers on their television watching habits and aggressive acts toward other individuals. They found that the more television a teenager watches each day, the more likely he is to participate in aggressive acts