"Un"reality Television

With all this time off for the holidays, I've been watching more television than usual and I've seen many previews of the various "reality shows".  I know these are not a new genre in television, but the longer these types of shows continue to be popular, the less I understand why.  There is no such thing as "reality" in a reality show. The minute you turn on a camera around a group of people, they cease to be themselves.  If you don't believe that - think about your childhood home movies with you and your siblings showing off - competing for air-time.

The theme of most of these so-called reality shows is how beastly people can be to each other.  The fighting, back-stabbing, scheming, hissy fits, name-calling, hysterics, and high drama is so over the top that I refuse to believe that this is the reality in which most people exist.