Do you find yourself wanting to spew venom, like Dolly Bindra (in Bigg Boss 4), at someone who angers you at work? Do you get tempted to fling a shoe, like in Rakhi ka Insaaf? Studies have shown that reality television is heavier on aggression than non-reality TV shows. And realistically-depicted aggression is likely to be imitated by individuals viewing it.
Says psychologist Dr Sridhara A, “This is true to a large extent. It tends to affect people who are addicted to reality TV shows. And the influence is felt more by the young than those in an older age group. Television producers like to provoke the negative emotions in the viewer and exploit their voyeuristic tendencies. They are well aware that there will be a larger audience for their show if the contestants are shown abusing each other. Most of it is scripted, but little do all the viewers know that, and tend to imitate the behaviour shown.”
Hema Sundari, a performing artiste, feels that reality shows targeted at youngsters leads to aggression in them. “Very recently, I was at an entertainment event that was organised by youngsters, and was amused-yet-worried about the way that they were dealing with each other. There was a lot of cussing and rude behaviour, typical of what is shown in Roadies,” says Hema, who prefers to unwind with music reality shows where the judges are not over critical and the show — non-controversial.
Actor Raghu Mukherjee unwinds with his daily dose of F.R.I.E.N.D.S or Two and a Half Men. “I also enjoyed watching Kaun Banega Crorepati. I would answer the questions sitting in my living room, pretending to be a participant in the show,” he says, adding, “Reality shows give people wild ideas on how scheming or gossipy they can be in real life. There’s enough of competition and rivalry in any profession these days, and we could do without shows to make people ‘smarter’ in this regard!”
Experts advice that keeping a check on viewing of reality TV shows help avoid being influenced by them. “It would be ideal if the makers of shows such as Emotional Atyachar or Bigg Boss issued a statutory warning saying that ‘this behaviour shouldn’t be imitated,’ like in the case of adventure game shows,” jokes Dr Sridhara A. “People need to ensure that they don’t overdo watching reality TV shows. At first, it may start off with feeling distanced from the situation depicted. But gradually the viewer finds himself/herself getting ‘tips’ on how to deal with a similar situation if ever he or she is caught in it, in the future.”