Before last Monday's class, I had never thought about the types of TV shows we watch, and how they are mostly about rich and spoiled people. I have to admit that I love all those shows. I religiously watch Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Sex and the City, The Hills, The City, and a bunch of other unrealistic shows. After class, I really thought about why TV shows focus on this lifestyle. Someone in class said that they thought it helped people get away from their problems and live in a dream world. To some extent I agree with that, I think that watching rich people on TV allows you to pretend for an hour that you are apart of that world; live out a fantasy. People always envy what they don't have and want to lead the lives that they watch on TV. In all the shows we watch, the characters have the most beautiful clothes, cars, and houses, all the materialistic items, which people think that they want. Although, it's not bad to fantasize a little about that lifestyle, it is sometimes taken a little too far. People can become too obsessed with the way the characters look in these shows, which is not realistic. Many of the actresses in the shows are extremely skinny and don't eat. Young girls are very impressionable, and it's unrealistic to want to look like the characters. There is also a big emphasis in these shows about sex and partying, which is scary for parents. I don't think anyone wants 14 and 15 year old girls and boys to think that everyone is having sex and drinking alcohol, staying out until all hours of the night. That lifestyle just isn't realistic and should not be something that all teens think is normal and acceptable.
One of the positives about many of these TV shows, is that they portray many of the characters as being sad and depressed. That shows that money doesn't buy happiness, and many of the plot lines revolve around that specific topic. I personally think that that is an important lesson for all children to learn. People, especially children can be very envious and it is important to know that living a certain lifestyle does not guarantee a good life. There is definitely a dark side to the affluent lifestyle.
What I am getting at, is not that these shows are bad because I personally love them, but that children can't take them too seriously. Parents should be aware of what their children watch and monitor it. I don't think that a 12 year old should watch sex and the city but they can certainly watch Greek. Children should also be aware that these shows are exaggerated and most people don't live in those conditions. It would be nice if more shows were about average and realistic families but that just doesn't seem to sell.
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