The Jersey Shore’s Mad Fame

It is evident that MTV’s The Jersey Shore is playing on the television when one hears the pervasive lyrics of the opening credits. The song, Get Crazy by LMFAO, portrays exactly what the show stands for, stupidity. A verse of the song states, “I got the goose alright ok, I'm feelin’ loose alright ok, she love the beat alright ok, we love them D's”. The “D’s” stated in the song refer to the size of a woman’s breasts. The song continues to discuss matters such as drinking, partying at clubs, women as “whores,” and the continued reference to women’s breasts. The opening song of a show usually invites the viewer in and presents a general concept of what a specific show is about. The Jersey Shore, a show mostly known because of its infamous characters, presents a different perspective on life, as the show follows eight young adults and their life of partying, drinking, sex, and idiotic views on life. Their carelessness has influenced viewers, especially the younger population, to follow their footsteps and live carefree lives by turning to alcohol, parties, and sex as escapes. Not only do they embarrass the younger population (mostly ages 17-27), but degrade women as well by portraying them to be “easy” and by being judged exclusively by their looks. These issues do have a solution though. One way my peers and I can address this problem is by not encouraging the ratings of these shows by not watching them and rather doing something productive with our time. Since these shows are generally watched by young adults and intended for them as well, another way my peers and I can address this problem is by requesting media companies to produce real shows with real people instead of shows that portray shocking views of young adults. Issues pr...

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...n as a Model for Social Network Site Behavior." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 54.3 (2010): 508- 525. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 8 Nov. 2010.

This study, also conducted by the Journal of Broadcasting, focuses on the effects reality based television programs have on the social networking behavior of people, primarily younger viewers. The study dedicates one section to how the behavior of a particular age group correlates directly with the type of reality shows they watch. Reality television programs, according to the study, portray nonprofessional actors as ordinary and regular people. People therefore confuse the behavior of these “actors” as normal and ordinary behavior. Behavior shown in the Jersey Shore can be easily misinterpreted as behavior of ordinary people and can induce people to do the same.