Reality Shows: Love em or Leave em?

This is a very curious question to me. Answers may vary depending on one thing: Can it be an anonymous response? If not, most people will emphatically say, "LEAVE EM!" If able to answer anonymously, most people will quietly say, "LOVE EM."

Since the inception of "reality shows" we have seen a HUGE gravity pull from the general public to the boob tube. "Survivor" I believe, was the first to hit the set and many were attracted to the show's concept of "outplaying, outwitting, and outlasting" your opponent. Those who were honest and true to themselves and others were quickly eliminated while those who cheated, lied, and formed alliances lasted the longest and were the most successful. (metaphor for life? Maybe).

Anyway, it was at this juncture in our TV lives that it was "cool" to watch "Survivor." It was new. It was fresh. And it was good water-cooler fodder.

But like most things in life, things that are new and fresh sooner or later become old and rotten. (No offense to the "more mature" people that read this blog). :)

What usually happens is that when something is exciting and popular, it becomes overused, overdone, and overplayed. There is an imaginary pendulum that swings in the air and therefore, instead of being "cool" because you watch the show, you are now considered a "loser" with nothing better to do.

Imagine this scene four years ago: You walk up to the water cooler and there are others standing around talking about certain events and you say, "You guys see "Survivor" last night. Isn't Rob and Amber the perfect couple?" Everyone nods their head in agreement, slaps you on the back, and all of sudden you are leading the discussion. In essence, you are "cool."

Now four years later, same thing happens. You go and get some water. Same people are there from before and you throw out this beauty, "You guys see "The Bachelorette" last night. I can't believe she cut Graham." Everyone furrows their brow, turns their back to you, and all of a sudden you are shuffling back to your desk wondering what happened. In essence, you are a "fool."

But here's the whole point and what you have to realize: Those same people that "furrowed their brow" and looked at you like a "loser" are also watching the show and deep down, they really wanted to discuss it with you. However, the pendulum had already swung. It is now taboo to discuss reality shows openly in a public setting. Everyone thinks you have nothing better to do with your time and therefore labels you accordingly BUT the underlying secret is that most people are still watching in the privacy of their homes.

How do I know this?

See my last blog post. I got the most comments I've ever gotten throughout my 6 months of blogging. People are still interested, they are just not "publicly" confident to show that interest.

I make a plea to all of you: Let it go. Shed the label. Swing the pendulum back and make it "water cooler" cool again. Be confident in yourself and others will be drawn out as well.

You know you all watch them. You know you all love them. It's time to publicly admit it. Don't "cheat, lie, and form anti-reality show alliances" but instead be "honest and true to yourself and others" and together we will be the last ones standing on the island.

Let me be the first to say it:

My name is DRO and I LOVE watching "The Bachelorette!"