Interactive Entertainment: Reality TV and Social Media

Since its inception in 1984, MTV, Music Television, has produced 62 music series. However, since 1998, the channel has produced 89 reality series (“List of Programs Broadcast by MTV”).

Today, reality TV shows are the second most watched genre of programing on television (Nielsen). Programs such as “American Idol” and “Pawn Stars” are just some of the reality shows which top the ratings list (Nielsen). TV executives are developing more reality television series because the programs attract large audiences.

The proliferation of reality television programs, since the late 90's to early 2000's has been a subject of debate and inquiry from both pundits and scholars alike (Nabi 371-372).

In her 2003 article “Reality-based television programming and the psychology of its appeal”, U.C. Santa Barbara communications, Prof. Robin Nabi provided a comprehensive definition of the genre.

“Programs that film real people as they live out events in their lives, contrived or otherwise, as they occur” (Nabi 372).

In addition, Nabi categorized the genre with 5 characteristics: “(a) people portraying themselves, (b) filmed at least in part in their living or working environment rather than on a set, (c) without a script, (d) with events placed in a narrative context, (e) for the primary purpose of viewer entertainment. In essence, reality programs are marked by ordinary people engaged in unscripted action and interaction” (Nabi 372-373).

As with other genres of television, reality programs can be sub-identified into 6 subgenres: “romance, crime, informational, reality-drama, competition/game, and talent” (Nabi 373).

Within the context of Prof. Nabi’s definition, reality television is not a new invention; reality television programs have been on for decades. The structure of early reality programs such as 1948’s “Candid Camera” have been recycled in newer programs such as “Punk’d” (“Reality TV”). However, today, tv is saturated with reality programs. Why now? Why the rapid rise?

In his book “The Bias of Communication” Harold Innis categorized the history of society into two traditions: the oral tradition and the written tradition. In the oral tradition, everything of importance was communicated orally(Innis 2). As a result, according to Innis “the oral tradition emphasized memory and training” (Innis 9). The emphasis on face to face communication, as opposed to communication through media such as paper and pen, better suited slow content: storytelling, history, wisdom, knowledge (Innis 1-10) . Active citizen participation in the public sphere allowed encouraged debated on issue of politics, philosophy and welfare (Innis 191).