When I was an undergrad I was fascinated by the Jerry Springer show.  Day after day, night after night, I couldn’t seem to get enough of drunken ramblings, and the shock of incestuous adulterous relationships.  I shamelessly admit I was drawn to the obscenity of it all.  I loved the idea of living vicariously through the drama of strangers as they destroyed personal relationships and embarrassed the heck out of themselves.

As I matured and reality TV evolved over the years I wondered what was so enticing about watching the lives of other people fall apart.  Good grief, what is it? Simply a case of good old fashioned voyeurism or the shock of watching seemingly average people test sacred relationships without remorse and fiercely compete against one another?  

Was I among the masses that watch reality TV because I want to escape, or was I fantasizing about gaining celebrity even if it meant putting myself in a compromising position to do so.  If given the chance could I be brave enough to publicly humiliate myself?

Among thoughts floating across my mind as I watched shows like survivor, Amazing Race, Temptation Island and others was- why were these supposedly average people on TV to begin with.  Maybe some for money, among a long list of other reasons-I guess. 

After questioning why these characters were on TV posing as real, and why I bothered to watch in the first place, I also had to ask myself if I was able to handle my own reality and be content.    

Maybe Henry David Thoreau hit the nail on the head when he said “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” 

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