Mommy, I want to be a reality show contestant. The power of the television programming in adolescents

Abstract

The media have gained great importance as a socializing agent, building up and transmitting identities through images and speeches, in such a way that they influence, immediately and daily, the behaviors and attitudes of the spectators. One of those media, so deeply rooted in our daily habits that we can hardly detach from both its consumption and the power that it exerts on us, is television (conventional or through Internet). The competition between the television networks and the terrible fight for the audience have led to a change in the programming, in such a way that, at present, a significant percentage of the guide is constituted by the so-called trash TV programs, among which are those exhibiting prejudices and gender stereotypes. This paper aims for examine the television products consumed by adolescents and the impact and influence that the so called “reality shows” have. To do this, a homemade questionnaire of 36 items (with open, closed and Likert-type questions) was used on a sample of 237 subjects, aged between 14 and 23 years old. After data analyzing, grouping, contrasting and interpreting, it was found that television consumption among the subjects of the sample was massive and daily (99.4%), as well as the related comments on the social networks. Similarly, 73% of the subjects claimed to be a follower of at least one reality show, most of them (87.3%) found important advantages to the fact of going out on TV, 35% would like to be people related to fame and a surprising 27% would like to participate in a reality show. The results show the necessity of an education for the television products consumption that put the emphasis on the reflective and critical role of the spectator.