At any given moment of the day, you can turn your television on and a reality TV show will be playing on nearly every channel. Reality shows are defined as “television programs that present real people in live, though often deliberately manufactured, situations and monitor their emotions and behaviors,” according to MSN Encarta. Reality shows today can go from an intimate interpersonal experience between two people to anything else imaginable, such as jumping off cliffs only to provoke a few laughs and a few more broken bones. There are reality shows about business, cooking, law, relationships, jobs, fitness, surgery, sports, home repair, car repair, even life repair. If you can think of it, chances are, it has already been thought of and will be featured on VH1. The monstrosity of reality TV is something not easily ignored.

                The big question is how did reality TV become so big that we cannot seem to block it out anymore? Some may think reality TV began with the famous opening: “This is a true story… of seven strangers…picked to live in a house…work together and have their lives taped… to find out what happens…when people stop being polite… and start getting real… The Real World.” However, MTV’s depiction of what life is like when complete strangers live together was not the first reality TV show. The first reality TV show debuted in1948 when Candid Camera was aired. As time went on, so did unnecessary spin offs of Candid Camera—like MTV’s Punk’d and Fox’s COPS.

                The Real World is credited, however, to creating the bombardment of reality TV. The Real World was a contrived effort of Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. It aired May 21, 1992 from its first location of New York City. General themes of prejudice, romance, sexuality, politics, religion, life-threatening illnesses, marriages, and fights are what got The Real World through its 21 seasons with a 22^nd on its way out of Cancun, Mexico. 

“Watching [The Real World] is so entertaining. Watching drama is a lot more fun than being a part of it,” University of Northern Iowa junior Kendra Schwering said.

                The next MTV project was The Real World on wheels: Road Rules, which held the same concept of strangers. Instead of living in a house, the strangers were put on a RV that traveled from location to location with the goal of completing a mission with few clues to aid along the way. After Road Rules, the spin offs took charge. Competitive shows like Survivor, The Amazing Race, Big Brother and The Mole became increasingly popular. Road Rules eventually took a break in 2007 with a plan to return to TV in the future.

                MTV and Bunim and Murray still had plans in store. Aired in 1998 was the first of 16 Real World/Road Rule Challenges, which was a competition between former cast members of both shows. The Challenges have been located in various spots from Australia to Cape Town, Africa, and Panama to New Zealand.

                Next on the agenda of reality TV was the category of talent. Talent on TV is not anything new. The Miss America competition has been airing on TV every year since 1954, when it was first broadcasted on ABC. American Idol—which is a later version of the Gong Show, where the contestants would have to get through their act before a gong was sounded—took the United States by force when it was first of eight seasons was aired on June 

11, 2002. American Idol is a TV show that strives to find the newest and most talented solo musical artist. American Idol has gotten so big and popular in recent years that in 2008 The Walt Disney Company announced its construction of “The American Idol Experience,” which is a live attraction based on the show. American Idol spin offs include The Next Great American Band, Dancing with the Stars, and So You Think You Can Dance.

The next largest share of reality TV goes to those who don’t need any more fame. Almost every celebrity at one point in time has had a reality TV show: The Osbourne’s, The Anna Nicole Show, Newly Weds: Jessica and Nick, The Simple Life, Rock of Love, Hogan Knows Best, The Girls Next Door, and Living Lohan just to name a very few. These “celebreality” shows are usually short-lived.

“I love Keeping up with the Kardashians,” University of Northern Iowa junior Ellen Harris said. “It’s really funny and they seem like really likeable people. It cheers me up.”

So why, in reality, are reality TV shows so incredibly tempting to be a part of today?

First, the fame and fortune associated with participating on a reality television show are two very enticing objectives. These creatures combined have the ability to draw any normal being out of their humdrum of existence with merely the offer of money and adoration granted by the show’s followers.

The sad truth is, however, that these so-called “stars” of reality TV are simply parlaying their 15 minutes of fame into a career in TV, whether we like it or not. While the winner of the first season of American Idol Kelly Clarkson turned her reality TV show triumph into a moderately successful and respectable singing career, others like William Hung, who was noted as one of the worse American Idol auditioners, received fame for the opposite reason. While Clarkson’s first album “Thankful” went double platinum, William Hung did not do too shabby with his album entitled “Inspiration,” which sold more than 350,000 copies worldwide.

“These people spark some kind of interest. I can’t get enough of them, from YouTube replays to watching them on TV, I love seeing what they will do,” Schwering said.

Another reason reality TV is so big is because humans are naturally nosey. We like to know what is going on with people and we thrive on being on top of the latest gossip. If the show involves any type of controversy, we are even more interested and quickly become involved with the situations. We also love to watch people win as well as lose. What they win is the most astonishing thing. We are even drawn to the poor souls that lose. Also, we like seeing what happens behind the scenes, for example: Deadliest Catch or Dirty Jobs. Americans are intrigued by the matters at which things we take for granted are accomplished. Such as, who wouldn’t be interested in seeing someone battle against horrendous storms for their lives while trying to catch crabs or observe second-hand what is actually involved with the job description of pigeon-poop cleaner-upper, other than the obvious.

“Dirty Jobs is great to watch when I’m feeling bad about my life. It reminds me that life could be worse and at least I’m not someone who has to pick up dead cows and turn them into mush,” University of Northern Iowa senior Adam Scharpman said.

Along with American’s interest in behind the scenes, we are also interested in the reality of romance on TV and the age-old question of: can you actually find true love on TV?

With shows like MTV’s Room Raiders, Next, Parental Control, and Date my Mom, and VH1’s Rock of Love and Flavor of Love and any other type of love, the answer is an almost positive no.

“I hate the MTV and VH1 dating shows. They are so cheesy and obviously staged,” said Harris. “But I am a sucker for the Bachelor and Bachelorette.”

Reality romance shows like The Bachelor offer another opinion. Of the 13 Bachelors none are married but two are still engaged, according to Wikipedia. Of the four Bachelorettes, Trista Rehn is the only one has had a successful marriage and happy-ever-after. The show’s success can be measured in one of two ways: one is it is successful because there was a marriage, the second says the show failed at finding love for the participants because out of the 17 bachelor and bachelorettes, only one found love. What really is the point of shows like these?

“I don’t like reality TV, but the point of it is to entertain you and even if you don’t like it, you’re still entertained,” University of Northern Iowa junior Betsy Knapp said.

The question now is if reality TV is wearing out its welcome. According to MSNBC, four out of five Americans agree there are an overwhelming amount of reality shows on TV. On the other hand, 4% of Americans disagree and believe there are not enough reality shows.

                According to Annette Hill, author of Reality TV: Factual Entertainment and Television Audiences, Co-Founder of E! Entertainment Larry Namer said, “[to viewers] reality television is television, it’s not a fad.”

                That “fad” will continue on as long as long as humans have an appetite for fame and intrusion of other’s privacy.