Of the top 50 most watched television shows from 2014 to 2015, 10 were reality television shows with more than 10 million viewers.
In 2011, Jersey Shore was the most watched cable series on television, averaging 9.3 million viewers per episode. In the spring of 2015, 37.7% of people who watch television said they watch reality television programs regularly.
However, reality television is highly scripted and edited to provide and enhance dramatic storylines for the viewers. Anna Klassen, who starred in the pilot of a reality television show that focused on dramatic makeovers, recounted her experience filming the show: "We improvised every scene, and if a producer didn't like what we did, he'd ask us to do it over, and over, and over. There was no script, but I knew the emotions I was supposed to evoke with each take." Directors and actors are candid about the falsity of these shows, yet they are still promoted as portraying reality. By classifying these fraudulent shows as reality, consumers are deceiving themselves through an illusion.
A 2005 study published in the Journal of Consumer Research succinctly summarized why reality television is popular with audiences; people “do not so much seek satisfaction from products, as pleasure from the self-illusory experiences which they construct from their associated meanings.” Even though viewers know that reality television does not reflect real life, they create meaning from the artificial experiences portrayed in these shows. This process occurs through self-identification, wherein viewers become invested in cast members' stories and empathize with them, ultimately validating the authenticity of the cast's stories, however fake they may be.
In 2011, Jersey Shore was the most watched cable series on television, averaging 9.3 million viewers per episode. In the spring of 2015, 37.7% of people who watch television said they watch reality television programs regularly.
However, reality television is highly scripted and edited to provide and enhance dramatic storylines for the viewers. Anna Klassen, who starred in the pilot of a reality television show that focused on dramatic makeovers, recounted her experience filming the show: "We improvised every scene, and if a producer didn't like what we did, he'd ask us to do it over, and over, and over. There was no script, but I knew the emotions I was supposed to evoke with each take." Directors and actors are candid about the falsity of these shows, yet they are still promoted as portraying reality. By classifying these fraudulent shows as reality, consumers are deceiving themselves through an illusion.
A 2005 study published in the Journal of Consumer Research succinctly summarized why reality television is popular with audiences; people “do not so much seek satisfaction from products, as pleasure from the self-illusory experiences which they construct from their associated meanings.” Even though viewers know that reality television does not reflect real life, they create meaning from the artificial experiences portrayed in these shows. This process occurs through self-identification, wherein viewers become invested in cast members' stories and empathize with them, ultimately validating the authenticity of the cast's stories, however fake they may be.