In today’s society what can truly be considered "real" reality?
            In a country where television audiences tune in each week to watch “average” Americans survive in the out backs of Australia, eat animal testicles and artificially inseminate cows, one has to wonder if America has allowed television to severely distort reality.
            While there have been seemingly harmless reality television shows in the past, such as ABC’s Making the Band which created and followed a pop band through the early stages of their career, the genre has developed into a platform for the dangerous and a showcase for the disgusting, according to many critics.
            Dating all the way back to what now seems tame by comparison, MTV's The Real World first introduced viewers to the world of reality TV in the early 1990s.
            Recently, NBC’s Big Brother reignited the craze with a series of cameras that watched a family during their day-to-day lives.  However, ever since Big Brother, reality TV viewers have found they needed more, and more, to generate that “kick” of interest.
            The result was the genre’s step into acts that took it further from reality than ever and paved America’s place as a society of “peeping Toms,” according to media expert Dr. Bosah Ebo, professor of communication.
            "There has always been a peeping Tom syndrome to the way we live our lives," said Ebo.  "The Real World began pushing the envelope, but it just wasn't as mainstream as Survivor is now.  We've always had a fascination for the risque."
            A perfect example of this is Fox’s Temptation Island, a show that brings out the worst in viewer curiosity by encouraging unethical actions.  The program splits real-life couples up on to two islands filled with beautiful people and gives them ample opportunity to begin new relationships behind the backs of their partners.  
            Imagine for a moment that all of the contestants remained faithful to each other.  The show’s ratings would plummet simply because all of the people spying on them (viewers) watch Temptation Island anticipating the moment when someone will cheat.
            Similar to any other social circle, fans like sophomore Lauren Harris got together and discussed what was going on.
            "The shows bring us together and let us gossip about the people as a group," said Harris.  "The appeal is that it's real life and it reflects our own lives."
            CBS’s Fear Factor prides itself on pitting its contestants into the most grotesque situations imaginable.  In the past, contenders have eaten buffalo testicles and sheep eyes, bathed with live rats and been covered with snakes.
            The question this raises is how far will Fear Factor producers go once stunts like these become boring and fail to produce the “kick” to viewers, as Big Brother did?
            It will undoubtedly raise the bar to whatever level they feel will disgust their audience worse than ever before – the worst is yet to come.
            Ebo believes that the media and its concern for what he terms a "commercial imperative" is truly the driving force behind reality TV and why networks are not afraid to cross into questionable ground.
            "Advertisers don't care about controversy unless there is pressure from social groups," stated Ebo.  "They aren't driven by social values.
            It only becomes an issue if it's going to affect the money they will make."
            Other reality programming, however, has presented a more clear danger to society with stunts that children simply do not understand are staged by, or under the control of, professionals.  MTV’s Jackass, for example, fed the need to reality viewers by having star Johnny Knoxville commit such terrible acts of self-inflicted terror as a human barbeque, in which Knoxville laid on a lit grill wearing a flame retardant suit to cook steaks that were attached to his body.
            The network was apparently surprised when children across the country began to copy Knoxville’s behavior in spite of “Do not try this at home” warnings posted during the show.
            "People are into it for the sheer shock value it brings," said junior Mike Lovullo.  "In high school we did stuff like that, but it's really immature.  People in suburban settings live vicariously through it."
            The problem with programs like Jackass is that they are run by professionals who shoot it to look like reality programming, thus giving younger viewers the impression that stunts like these can be accomplished by any average viewer, just like them.
            Society's dissatisfaction with its lives is what Ebo believes is partially responsible for this strange phenomenon.
            "There is something about these shows that is missing in our own lives," stated Ebo.  "The younger gengeration needs excitement and something to do to feed their boredom."
            By putting people into unrealistic situations, Ebo believes the audience is mislead into believing what they are watching is real when in actuality it is not.
            "I don't know how real reality TV is when subconsciously you know someone is watching you with a camera," said Ebo.  "The point is to get you to watch for the sake of Nielsen ratings and nothing more.  It is very artificial."
            In Ebo's estimation, reality TV is here to stay, but ultimately believes that the fickle nature of society will be its undoing.
            "I think that eventually they'll peter out," said Ebo.  "I would give them maybe another year or two.  Right now they're hot, but before long, the fascination will end and a new fad will come around to replace it."