Years ago I tuned in to one of those reality TV shows that feature teams of contestants and some kind of elimination competition. What struck me was that the conniving, cutthroat, contemptible (and contemptuous) behavior of the contestants was not how normal, sane people behave. Then I realized that the producers of these programs contrive the game so that contestant have to act that way to win. The producers believe, no doubt correctly, that conflict, invective and duplicity make for higher ratings.
The problem is that young people watch these shows and, I suspect, think they model how people should interact with each other and how to succeed in real life. That’s horrifying. The “rules” of real life are not the same as the ones reality TV producers design. In real life, unless you’re dealing with a narcissist or a sociopath, being respectful, collegial and helpful are the behaviors that work best. But how many young people watching The Real Housewives of Wherever would know that?
Of course, today we have a reality TV star in the White House, which definitely complicates this argument. It’s much harder to make the case that honesty and reciprocity are winning behaviors when one of the most dishonest and divisive men in the public eye managed to win the presidency.
I don’t have much hope that television will change its ways anytime soon; appalling, aberrant behavior attracts ratings. But hopefully we’ll soon be able to remove that kind of conduct from the Oval Office.
This is dead on correct. The sad fact is that we live in a society that is increasingly defined by what I think of as “trash culture.” It’s been this way for years. Just look at what is “trending” on Google or other social media platforms at any given time. I know by saying this I’m probably identifying myself as a hopeless snob, but that’s mostly what I see in almost all “popular culture” in this country. Perhaps it’s just one cranky man’s opinion, but we’re all living with the consequences of this. It certainly won’t be gone whenever Trump leaves the White House.