Premium Essay

Reality Show Violence Getting Too Real

Submitted By
Words 804
Pages 4
We all have our guilty pleasures, and for many that may be sitting down in the comfort of your own home and turning on the television to your favourite Reality TV show. There are many shows that feature the everyday lives of the average person such as Duck Dynasty, Cake Boss and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, just to name a few. However, we all know the better shows include lots of drama and unfortunately some violence. Those with violence may include some of the shows featured in the video article “Reality Show Violence Getting Too Real?” published by ABC News (Canning and Stuart). You will see four major reality TV shows featured in this article, which include Teen Mom, KUWTK spin off Kourtney and Khloe take New York, The Real Housewives’ of Jersey and the infamous Jersey Shore. If you were looking at this video in a functionalist perspective, you would see that the producers of these shows …show more content…
Scott is best known for dating Kourtney Kardashian who is the eldest sister in the Kardashian family. Disick has struggled with alcohol abuse for many years and has also been known to get violent while drinking. Although Disick’s behavior can be entertaining, his appearance in the show is in no way up to the producer’s, but is up to the Kardashian family themselves. Kourtney has been known to give Scott far too many chances as they have three beautiful children together, although he has been seen in the show to not think about his kids first. It seems as though Disick has chosen alcohol over his children many times. A functionalist would look at this and wonder how functional or dysfunctional Disick’s behavior would be on his family and also question why Kourtney has kept him in her life for so long. It is possible that the producers sat Kourtney down and put in her head that he would bring in views with his wild

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Impact of Reality Tv Shows on Youths

... It can give people the opportunity to travel around the globe, expose them to new ideas that they might not have encountered from their community and also a chance to learn about different cultures. Pro-social messages from shows on television will give a positive impact on the behavior of today's youth. However, these youths are more likely to learn negative values from these television programs. Television has now become a debatable issue as some question its influences on the attitude and psychological development of today's youth. Nowadays, the world of television has been discovered by children at very young age. As we know, television is an effective educational tool. With programs showcasing wildlife, scientific theories etc, it helps these children to be broad-minded and also have a better understanding about the world around them. However, we have to remember and be aware that the television also is seem to posses more negative effects than positive ones. A day in a youth's life will generally be filled with activities such as playing with friends, reading, doing homework and being physically active but this can be easily replaced with the presence of television. This is detrimental to their physical and mental development because studies show that the first two to three years of a child's life is where he/she learns through observing, interacting, playing and also exploring new things. Thus if these children are glued and become addicted to these programs on television...

Words: 4840 - Pages: 20

Premium Essay

Child Obesity

...The Reality of Television Media About six years ago, a three-year-old child in London who weighed 83 pounds died from obesity. The parents—who may have partially been at fault for being unable to say “no” to their child’s destructive eating habits—were appropriately devastated. Obesity-related deaths aren’t especially common in children that young; however, childhood obesity has increasingly become a threat to children everywhere, with 20% of children aged six to eleven being obese (Ogden qtd. in CDC). Such a sad, shocking statistic ought to raise eyebrows and turn heads, yet parents don’t necessarily hold all the blame for their children’s obesity. It is likely that most children that young wouldn’t even know of such fattening foods without frequent exposure to it, regardless of how the exposure occurs. While I am not here to strictly talk about childhood obesity, it is part of the bigger picture: as the years go by, children are exposed to more and more television. It has gotten to the point where most children spend at least 1.5 times more time watching television than attending school (Herr)! More specifically, the average American youth watches about 1500 hours of television per year—that’s about 62.5 days per year of pure television (Herr). Many studies have been performed on the adverse effects of television on children, and generally speaking, television truly has a profound effect on their lives. Whether it be through advertising or typical programming, television...

Words: 3206 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Video Games and Their Effects

... One particular type of video game that is very popular among youth today is the violent video game. Violent video games are all the rage to many individuals ranging from preteen years to early twenties. The issue of whether or not violent video games are good for adolescents has been raised years back and is still being looked at today. Many would argue that video games are fictional and people know the difference between fiction and reality, so violent video games do not pose as a threat. Most video games are played by adolescents and those in their early twenties. After those ages, most people no longer find it intriguing to indulge in playing video games. The problem is, although video games are fiction, younger individuals do not fully understand that concept and still believe that the video games they are playing are actual life situations and what happens on video games applies to reality. This of course, is not the case. Although there are some video games that look realistic and present real life situations, they do not always show the repercussions for certain actions taken. Video games, especially violent video games also have a way of making actions like shooting and killing people seem easier and less serious than they actually are, putting it into the minds of young individuals. There are many studies about violent video games affecting people in various ways. There was a study on the effects of online violent video games on aggression levels of youth today...

Words: 1261 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Tv Violence and the Future of Our Children

...TV Violence and the Future of Our Children In recent years, the news has seemed to mimic violence that appears in television and in movies. Several incidents support the majority of people's assumption that TV violence effects a child's behavior in many ways. A child's judgment is hurt badly by viewing TV violence, which can have some serious long-term effects. First of all, when children see characters on TV or in movies triumph by using physical force, they begin to see violence as an acceptable way of resolving conflicts. As a result, children use physical or verbal abuse toward others on the playground or at school. Some parents often worry that their children will not fit in with their friends if they do not watch popular children's television programs. The same 20-year research tell us that children who watch more violent television are actually rated more poorly by their peers. Also, according to Dr. Jeanne Beckman, children who spend more time watching violent TV programming are rated more poorly by their teachers, their peers, have few problem-solving skills, and are more likely to get into trouble with the law as teenagers and young adults. Take for instance the young boy who opened fire at his school in Pearl, Mississippi. The movie the Basketball Diaries had the most effect on this boy. Children who view too much media violence may have more difficulty getting along with others. If children do not see acts of kindness between other children and adults, they...

Words: 1007 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Gun Violence Research Paper

...Games with simulated violence have become more and more popular with teens over the past few years. The games are not just played beyond screens, but also played in real life too. At St. Ann’s High School, they play the game “Killer”, which includes water guns to kill their targets or they will be killed by other competitors. The perilous games shouldn’t be played by teens because they make the gamers go to drastic measures to win, changes behaviors, and motivates people to kill people. These violent games make the players want to win so bad that they will do whatever it takes to achieve that win. An example of this found in Shoot-Out was at the beginning of the battle. “Protell took a car to Newark Airport, found the victims before they passed through security, and dispatched them using two bathtub ‘squirt fish.’” This proves that the contestants aren’t just killing the other player...

Words: 999 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Media Violence

...Media Violence Jessica Higginson PSY101: Introduction to Psychology Instructor: Hillary Locke Sept. 28, 2014 Media Violence and Violent Behavior in Children Is violence on television turning our children into violent, destructive, hateful people? Television shows today can be a powerful influence in developing value systems and shaping behavior (Bee, 1998: 261-262). Violence surrounds us due to most of what is on television is violent. For example take Saturday morning cartoons; the level of violence during Saturday morning cartoons is higher than the level of violence during prime time. During prime time there are six to eight violent acts per hour while there are twenty to thirty violent acts during Saturday morning cartoons ("Killing Screens," 1994). Before children finish grade school, they will have witnessed up to eight thousand murders and one hundred thousand violent acts on television (Levine, 1995: 143). Children learn about life through media more than in any other manner. The average child spends approximately twenty-seven hours per week watching television, which means that children spend most of their time only watching television and sleeping (Minow & LaMay, 1995: 32-33). Also, it has been proven by many studies that there is a positive relationship between television violence and behavioral problems in children. The research done by Wood, Wong, and Chachere (1991:378) has shown that "exposure to media violence increase viewers' aggression." This paper...

Words: 2539 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Effects of Gadgets to the Students

...This study covers the media‟s impact on Children‟s education , specifically the use of media and technology, children‟s educational TV , and some electronical gadgets ownership. Since some decades the media‟s presence in children is completly omnipresent. The media is used by children as an agent of socialisation on their knowledge. Children‟s news media use social intructions acquaintances function as primary sources of causal effects for each other. Thus the media‟s effects are getting more and more important in the children‟s educational system almost more than the parental upbringings. In these times, it create for the child and adolescent spectators an immediate experience of a virtual reality that become at once central to the fantasy lives of young peoples. Much of the advertising a teenager consumes is designed to make him want things. Nearly all forms of media are filled with some obvious, envious and hidden messages encouraging people to procure them. Key Words: Media‟s effect, C hildren‟s education, Fant asy lives, Technology, Social instruction. INTRODUCTION: Media‟s presence in children‟s lives is totally ubiquitous. As screens become ever-present in human lives, especially ones that are small and portable, children and teenagers are spending more time playing digital games and browsing on internet. Modern technology has transfomed the way children learn and interact with their environment. Television, which is the most dominant media affects children...

Words: 1372 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Youth Violence

...Youth Violence: What is the cause of it, and how can we prevent it? Violence happens everyday, not only in the U.S. but the rest of the world as well. In the 20th century violence was common among adults, but not a real big issue among youths. With violence among youths increasing in the mid to late 1990’s, many people have asked one question “What would cause today’s youth to commit an act of violence against another person?” There are many factors that can cause youths to commit an act of violence. Bullying is the most common factor that usually results in youth violence. Peer to peer bullying seems to be the most effective among youths because the bullies can physically or verbally abuse someone. Studies show that 20% of all children say that they have been bullied while at school. Bullying Statistics. Proactive Behavioral-Management.com. As youths get older they tend to stop the physical and verbal bullying and move to indirect bullying. Indirect bullying is mostly associated with teenagers and it involves gossiping, spreading rumors, excluding someone from social groups. Youths and adolescents that have been bullied directly or indirectly have committed an act of violence against their peers. From 1979 through 2001 youths that were bullied committed acts of violence at schools all across America that resulted in 45 deaths and 90 injuries. “Bonilla, D. M. (2000). School Violence. School violence (pp. 378-391). New York: H.W. Wilson Co.” Two-thirds of school shootings...

Words: 956 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

The Value of Reality Television

...Risky: The Values of Reality Television English 122 Risky: The Values of Reality Television Reality television has taken over television entertainment as the most popular genre of television broadcasting. Reality television is an unscripted programming genre that follows real life events of ordinary people and often celebrities for certain periods of time. The concept of reality television is popular however, it is not new. Survivor is mostly known for being the first reality television show to debut on a network. However, according to (Sannah, 2011), An American Family debuted on PBS in 1973 therefore is the first in class in this genre. On this particular reality show filmmakers followed the Loud Family in Santa Barbara for seven months. Since then American audiences have been exposed to shows like, Candid Camera, America’s Funniest Home Videos, Jerry Springer, and Cops, and more recently we have moved into more entertainment based, game show reality, and competition based reality TV. Media experts predicted the 2001 season of reality shows would be the beginning of the end of this genre stating, “over-scheduling tend to lead to overkill” (Gardyn, 2001). Clearly those that predicted this were wrong. There are an abundance of reality based programs on most networks from cable to regular network television. The majority of reality television shows being promoted today do not add any value or substance to human life or behavior. Reality television appeals to...

Words: 2049 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Teen Pregnancy

...Argumentative Analysis | Teenage Pregnancy | | Alisha Hunter | Core 201 | | In 2009, the first season of 16 and pregnant aired (a show to prevent teen pregnancy) and right after, it leads to a follow up of several spin-off shows of Teen Mom (after life of the girls on 16 and pregnant and where they are with their kids). After the first episodes of 16 and Pregnant and Teen mom many more seasons began to come out; four episodes of 16 and pregnant in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and then leading to three seasons of Teen Mom (Teen Mom 2 and Teen Mom 3). Shortly after the shows aired it was said that girls were getting pregnant on purpose just to be on the new television show. The newly show for pregnant girls isn’t helping girls prevent pregnancy. But more of leading girls on to become pregnant just to be a star get their 15 minutes of fame. Is the show really coming off as educational and realistic or are the shows making the girls make bad decisions. It all started with Maci, Farrah, Amber and Catelynn on the first season of 16 and Pregnant. The show was made to be educational and prevent teen pregnancies, to show young girls and boys about the real struggles of being a teen parent, showing the real struggles of parenting. It went into great and deep detail of the everyday lives of the girls. The show started off as a good educational show but then lead into more drama than just teen pregnancy. Catelynn had more than just issues with dealing with her adoption. She dealt with...

Words: 2165 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Gov vs Video Games

...strongly against kids playing video games and the government is wrong. The government thinks if kids are play video games that have graphic violence, sex, violent scenes, gory scenes, partial nudity, full nudity, portrayal of criminal behavior they will become criminals. There is a wide assortment of games out there and not all of them are bad. The games that those people think are bad are rated for adults only, not for kids and it’s the parents fault for letting kids play them. Video games are for fun, they’re not a reference for how to be a violent person. Parents should be monitoring their kids more often. I am a very firm believer in the thought that video games are meant to be for fun and do not affect how violent a person may become. The Government looks at video games completely the wrong way. One of their thoughts is that when someone plays to many video games it can make them violent and can make them into criminals. Looking at the classic game of "Cops and Robbers" and "Cowboys and Indians": children pretend to rob banks and shoot cops dead; toy guns or imaginary weapons are aimed at opponents; losers are supposed to "play dead." Fast-forward to the present and the debate over video game regulation. (Thierer, 2003) The recently introduced bill H.R. 669 by Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA), "The Protect Children from Video Game Sex and Violence Act of 2003." This bill would impose fines on anyone who sells or rents, "any video game that depicts nudity, sexual conduct, or other content...

Words: 2659 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

How Too Much Television Can Harm a Child’s Development

...How Too Much Television Can Harm a Child’s Development For the past 20 years, studies have linked excessive TV viewing to childhood obesity, poor brain development, lagging educational performance, sleep disturbances and diminished physical activity (Is Television Harmful For Children?, 2010). Children are very impressionable, so sitting in front of a television for long periods of time can have a negative outcome. While a child’s brain is being molded, they are more susceptible to act out learned behaviors from their favorite television shows. Parents have the responsibility to mold their child’s brain and not have it rot out from too much exposure to television. Children's television viewing should be limited to less than 2 hours a day in order to avoid too many negative effects. Violence is something that is hard for children to avoid on television today. Children are at risk of viewing this violence because they are watching more than the suggested amount of television. When children see this violence, they think it is cool and fun, so they want to try it out. They are taught that the images of violence are amusing. Many children who view too much violence can end up committing crimes. According to How TV Affects Your Child (2011), “TV violence sometimes begs for imitation because violence is often promoted as a fun and effective way to get what you want.” (Violence) When children see their favorite character bopping someone on the head to get what they want, it sends...

Words: 1393 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Limiting Television

... Television what a beautiful spectacle with your rich display of colors and deep sound. Truly one of the most impactful inventions of the 19th century. Television has been affecting millions of people young and old since its inception. Since the beginning television has played with all the emotions one possesses whether it was a funny show, heart wrenching news story or sporting event that brought joyful tears. Some love television and others think it offers nothing but negativity. No matter what feelings one has there is no denying the affect television has had on the human race. Unfortunately most of the time that negativity touches the lives of children who are too small to know how to make a good decision when it comes to viewing television. Parents are also putting their children at risk of future problems and might not even realize it. Research suggests that an excessive amount of TV is harmful to children because it affects behavior, hinders development and makes children more susceptible to health problems. Research suggests an excessive amount of television can affect the child’s behavior because when a child is exposed to violence for such a length of time the child has a chance of developing aggressive behavior that can later lead to violent tendencies in their youth as well as into adulthood. When raising a child a parent wants their child to be on their best behavior at all times. The last thing a parent needs is a call from the school requesting the parent come...

Words: 1866 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

The Stigma Surrounding Reality Television

...The Stigma Surrounding Reality Television ENG 122: English Composition II April 17, 2011 The word moral is defined as an act of relating to, expressing, or teaching principles of right and wrong in behavior (Moral 2011). The word value is defined as relative worth, utility, or importance in oneself (Value 2011) The word reality is defined as a real event, entity, or state of affairs; the totality of real things and events (Reality 2011). In today’s society reality television has such a great influence over the younger generation, and for the most part not in a positive way. The majority of the reality show programs shown on television showcase a lack of moral and values that are instilled in people from the time they are children. The majority of these shows display the people on the show drinking alcohol in vast amounts, expressing very open sexual behavior, violence, bad language choices, and endless nights of partying. When I was growing up my parents used to say “Do not believe everything you see on television, because that is not the reality of how things work in real life.” Reality television shows provide a false outlook on life, and it gives the youth an unrealistic standard of living, as well as slows down the developmental structure of the younger generation, because whatever is shown on reality television is what they think life is all about. Reality television has made for the most part, such a negative impact on the younger generation, that one has to wonder...

Words: 2038 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Gun Violence Research Paper

...our youth today. With so much gun violence especially in the community where there are disadvantage children. Who do we blame and what contributes to the way of how they think. I believe the media, which includes music, television, and video games do impact their behavior and actions. Some games do have educational content yet majority of them promote negative theme such as the abuse of drugs and alcohol, the killing of people and animals, disrespect for authority and the law, foul language and obscene gestures, criminal behavior just to name a few. Kids, typically boys, love the games that blast and shoot things. These are just some examples of the conversation...

Words: 2294 - Pages: 10