Impact of Reality Shows on Society---A Study in Gulbarga City Vijaykumar eti !

r" Suresh #ange A$S%RAC% An attempt has been made to explore opinion of the students, research scholars, house maker and teaching facultys consumption patterns in regard to reality television, their rationale for watching reality shows, their perceptions of the situations portrayed on these shows, and its impact on the society based on the sample of 100 respondents in Gulbarga city of Karnataka state !he results discussed are on types of television programmes viewed, rating of most watched reality shows and its impact on society &eywords' Reality Television, Reality Shows, Social Impact. Vijaykumar Meti is a journalist associated with Online Editorial in SiliconIndia, en!aluru. E"mail# vijaymeti$$%&!mail.com Mo'ile# (%)((%)*** +r. Suresh ,an!e is +y. -i'rarian, Virtual -earnin! Resource .entre +i!ital -i'rary, /ul'ar!a 0niversity, /ul'ar!a 12arnataka3, India. E"mail# suresh4jan!e&redi55mail.com Mo'ile# (($*6%$7*(

Introduction The media put our environment in perspective 'y !ivin! its many aspects various meanin! and e8planations. They help esta'lish our a!endas 'y !ivin! us thin!s to think and talk a'out9 they help us 'ecome socialised into our communities and political system and to participate in chan!e when necessary9 and they help us cope with or escape 5rom li5e:s realities in a wide variety o5 ways. In short, the !reater our need to 'elon!, to understand, and to cope the !reater our reliance on the mass media and hence the media must have some pervasive in5luence on our thou!hts, 'elie5s, values, and even our 'ehavior. Television is a popular and power5ul medium that 'oth imitates and in5luences culture. ;or many people, television is a primary source o5 in5ormation and entertainment. It is a window into a di55erent world an opportunity to view people, place, and thin!s that we may not have e8perienced 5irsthand. In an increasin!ly !lo'al society, television shapes society:s perception o5 the world. Reality television 'roke the monotony to create interestin! concepts and innovative ideas that made them stand out 5rom the re!ular shows. <ith the worldwide small screen sector comin! up with new concepts 5or reality shows, India too is in the race to come up with !ood concepts. Every day on television, some new reality shows are 'ein! introduced, ena'lin! the viewers to choose to pick one 5rom many shows. Reality television is a !enre o5 television pro!rammin! that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually 5eatures ordinary people instead o5 pro5essional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a pri=e is awarded. Reality shows have 'een order o5 the day attractin! and wooin! the audiences o5 all a!es. <ith the advent o5 shows like Antakshri and "a #e Ga $a %a, the music reality shows, Indian television industry saw a new wave !enerated in the !enre o5 Reality Television shows 'ack in early 7(($s and since then there has 'een all kinds o5 reality shows and perspectives like $!& 'akra9 (ach 'aliye, Kaun 'anega )rorpati, *halak +ikhlaa,a, 'ig 'oss, "wayamvar, etc. >ccordin! to -ight 1*$$73, most assumptions a'out the psycholo!y o5 reality television viewership are derived 5rom te8tual analyses o5 reality"'ased pro!rams, rather than research involvin! audiences. Thus, it calls 5or investi!ations o5 reality"'ased pro!rammin! 'ased on the

assumption that such pro!rams may implicate a network o5 social, economic, and political chan!es in modern society and hence the study attempts to determine impact o5 reality shows on the society. Significance of the Study Media analysis is an inte!ral part o5 understandin! society and this is 'ecause the media particularly shows telecasted throu!h television are 'ound to have positive or ne!ative impact on the society. Television is ar!ua'ly the most pervasive mass medium 'ecause it com'ines sound and pictures and no skills are necessary to watch. Today, reality shows with cele'rities acts as a clutter"'reakin! property 5or viewers9 it provides increased visi'ility and a chance to reach out to a lar!er TV"viewin! audience. Thou!h the star ?uotient is important as it attracts viewers instantly9 ultimately, it is en!a!in! content that keeps viewers !lued to these shows and thus the study in ?uestion noti5ies the importance o5 the study to identi5y the impact o5 reality shows on the society. Some o5 the important studies reported on reality shows are as under. Reality television pro!rammin! has 'een around since the 5irst 'roadcast o5 )andid )amera in the late 7(@$:s. It has not 'een until recently that these types o5 shows have !ained immense popularity. The de'ut o5 "urvivor in *$$$ has 'een credited with 'e!innin! the in5iltration o5 reality pro!rammin! in the current television landscape 1Rowen, *$$$3. The majority o5 reality television pro!rammin! is !eared towards the individuals under twenty 5ive years old 1;rank, *$$)3. ;rank 1*$$)3 su!!ests that youn!er viewers are drawn to these shows 'ecause they depict characters and situations that are relevant to their everyday lives. Aa'i et al. 1*$$)3 5ound that re!ular viewers watched 'ecause they 5ound it entertainin!, 5or the enjoyment o5 watchin! anotherBs li5e, and the sel5 awareness they receive 5rom these pro!rams. .asual viewers watched 'ecause they were 'ored, or 'ecause they enjoyed watchin! anotherBs li5e. .o!nitive and emotional predictors o5 reality TV were e8amined 'y Aa'i, Stitt, Cal5ord, and ;innerty 1*$$D3. Aa'i et al. 1*$$D3 also determined that perceived reality was not related to enjoyment 5rom viewin! reality TV pro!rammin!. They 5ound that various dimensions o5 perceived reality were related, 'ut not as a whole. -undy and others 1*$773 e8plores colle!e students: consumption patterns a'out reality television and their perceptions reveals that the participants perceive a

social sti!ma associated with watchin! reality television, they continue to watch 'ecause o5 the perceived escapism and social a55iliation. (bjecti)es The main o'jectives o5 the study are to # Identi5y the various types o5 television pro!rammes watched 'y the respondents 0nderstand the popularity o5 various reality shows and Study the impact o5 reality shows on society.

ethodology The research is important to arouse awareness amon! people especially amon! youth and women as they are the most vulnera'le !roup. The youth have to understand that their o'session towards reality shows can 'rin! disaster 5or them instead o5 'rin!in! 5ame to their li5e. Moreover, this research will 'rin! out some une8pected and serious 5act o5 reality shows which will make people reali=e the true meanin! o5 reality show and make them concerned a'out the issue. <e e8pect, a5ter com'inin! and analy=in! all o5 the in5ormation we hope to 'rin! out some ideas and solutions to chan!e the impact o5 reality shows on society. The scope o5 the study comes under the selected area in the /ul'ar!a city, and around the /ul'ar!a 0niversity .ampus has 'een taken into account. To conduct a survey selected 5ive popular Cindi lan!ua!e in5otainment channels and two most viewed reality shows in each selected channels. Euestionnaire method has 'een 5ollowed to collect the data 5rom users o5 the study in which 7@$ ?uestionnaires were distri'uted to the respondents out o5 which 7$$ are duly 5illed and responded.

Results and !iscussion %able *' Gender of the Respondents Se+ Male ;emale Total Respondents 6* @F 7$$ %able -' Age of the Respondents Age .in years/ 0nder 7F 7F")( @$"D$ Total Respondents 76 %) 7* 7$$ ,er cent 76.$ %).$ 7*.$ 7$$.$ ,er cent 6*.$ @F.$ 7$$.$

Ta'le 7 shows that 6* are male respondents and @F are 5emale respondents covered in the study. Majority o5 the respondents covered are in the a!e !roup 'etween 7F and )( years o5 a!e, 76.$ per cent o5 respondents are under 7F years and the rest 7*.$ per cent 'elon!s to a!e !roup o5 @$"D$ years 1Ta'le *3. %able 0' (ccupation of the Respondents (ccupation Research Scholar Couse Maker Teachin! ;aculty Student Total Respondents *6 *6 *6 *6 7$$ ,er cent *6.$ *6.$ *6.$ *6.$ 7$$.$

>mon! the respondents covered, type o5 occupation involved 'y the respondents 'elon!s to the cate!ory o5 research scholars, house maker, teachin! 5aculty and students. Each o5 these cate!ories represents one 5ourth i.e. *6.$ per cent o5 research scholars, house makers, teachin! 5aculty, and students.

%able 1' 2ours Spent on 3atching %ele)ision" 2ours -ess than * hours *") hours @"6 hours Respondents 7F @F 76 ,ercent 7F.$ @F.$ 76.$

More than 6 hours Total

7( 7$$

7(.$ 7$$.$

>ccordin! to the a'ove ta'le @, less than hal5 o5 the respondents 5ound to watch television 'etween two and three hours 1@F per cent3. 7F.$ per cent watch television less than two hours, 76.$ per cent watch television 5or @"6 hours and 7(.$ per cent mem'ers watch television 5or more than 6 hours per day. %able 4' %ype of %ele)ision programmes )iewed %ypes of programmes AewsG+ocumentary Sports TV +rama TV .omedy Movie Soap Opera Talk Show 5es 6D @( @7 @) @D D* ** 6o @@ 67 6( 6% 6@ )F %F %otal 7$$ 7$$ 7$$ 7$$ 7$$ 7$$ 7$$

The di55erent pro!rammes 'roadcasted in the +oordarshan 1Indian television3 and amon! them D* per cent pre5er to watch pro!rammes i.e. soap opera and then 5ollowed 'y AewsG+ocumentary 16D per cent3, sports 1@( per cent3, movies 1@D per cent3, .omedy 1@) per cent3 and dramas 1@7 per cent3. Cowever, only ** per cent o5 respondents indicate that they pre5er to watch talk Shows. The reality shows 'roadcasted in the various channels o5 +oordarshan have 'een identi5ied and ten reality shows have 'een identi5ied and asked the opinion o5 respondents to know their popularity 1Ta'le D3. Out o5 the 7$$ respondents covered in the study, only F$ have indicated to watch reality shows. %able 7' Rating of most watched Reality Shows .689:/ Very ,oor Reality Shows Voice o5 India Roadies +us 2a +um +ance India +ance Indian Idol +ada!iri Aach aliye .omedy .ircus .*/ 6 * ) % F @ @ F ,oor .-/ ) 77 76 D 6 7$ 7$ @ Good .0/ 77 7( 7) 76 7% 7D )$ *F Very Good .1/ 1: -7 *@ )* *F *D 7@ ** ;+cellent .4/ *7 ** *6 *$ ** *) ** 7F ean ).FD*6 ).DF%6 ).DD ).D6 ).D)%6 ).D)%6 ).6 ).@%6

'ig 'oss Emotional >thyachar

( 6

6 F

*$ 7%

00 *)

7) *%

).@)%6 7.DF%6

The television viewers have rated the ten selected reality show o5 Cindi channels. Only F$ per cent out o5 amon! 7$$ samples respondents watch reality shows, the ratin! o5 reality show is e8plained 'elow accordin! to the a'ove ta'le D. (ach 'aliye is rated 'y )$.$ per cent o5 respondents as !ood, 7@.$ per cent says Very /ood and ** per cent indicated e8cellent. *F per cent have rated )omedy )ircus as !ood and 7F per cent e8cellent. Cowever &oice of .ndia is rated 'y @$.$ per cent o5 respondents as !ood. >s per the mean value calculated reveals that, the top 5ive reality shows watched most are &oice of .ndia, #oadies, +us Ka +um, +ance .ndia +ance and .ndian .dol.

%able <' Impact of Reality Shows on respondents .689:/ Strongly !isagree @ * @ 6 @ F F F D Strongly Agree ** )D *F *@ ** ** 7F 7) )6

Reality %V shows

!isagree Agree

Enjoy watchin! -ike watchin! how people 'ehave on Reality TV Huts me in a !ood mood Makes me to think that lyin! is a !ood way Makes me 5eel 'etter a'out mysel5 Makes me 5eel that I have stron!er moral and values than the participants in the show Reality TV shows should 5eature more provocative material to hold my interest Reality TV makes me think that appearance is o5ten more important than intelli!ence Reality Shows make impact on society

7@ *( 7D *@ *$ *$ *F *6 7)

@$ 7) )* *% )@ )$ *D )@ *D

Cal5 o5 the respondents 5ound to enjoy watchin! reality shows 1AI@$3. ;orty percent o5 respondents indicate that they like watchin! how people 'ehave on reality television 6.$ per cent mem'ers stron!ly disa!ree that reality shows makes them to think that lyin! is a !ood way. )@.$ per cent mem'ers a!ree that a!ree that reality show makes them 5eel 'etter a'out mysel5. One 5ourth disa!ree that reality television makes them think that appearance is o5ten more important than intelli!ence. ;inally )6.$ per cent o5 respondents stron!ly a!ree that Reality Shows make impact on society.

Conclusion The reality show like J'ig 'oss:, or an adventurous reality television show like JRoadies:, the one common 5actor 'etween every reality show is the 5act that it a55ects and in5luences on society. In5luence can 'e 'oth positive and ne!ative. In a reality show like #oadies, there is adventure and e8citement on nearly every aspect o5 the show 'ecause it has travel, adventure, drama, touch o5 voyeurism, with the ordinary man. This 'rin!s in an ed!e to the show 'ecause o5 the varied and sometimes, creepy adventures the contestants e8perience in the show. Viewers do not necessarily read the disclaimer or notice that comes 'e5ore the show. Aor in India do you have a concept o5 ratin! TV shows as JH/"7): or J>: or J0:. This makes it incredi'ly sensitive 5or weak hearted, kids K women:s to view this show. I5 they do, what is the !uarantee that they are not !oin! to try stunts at homeL This is why the TV shows have to 'e viewed with discretion and i5 weak hearted, kids and women:s watch a show like this, then they have to 'e properly e8plained as to how these stunts simply cannot 'e tried out anywhere 'y them and this e8planation mi!ht have to 'e repeated several times 'y an adult. Sure, viewers have reached another level o5 smartness these daysM This will allow them to reali=e that reality shows mean there are mostly aspects that are real in nature. They understand and di55erentiate 'etween reality and non"reality 'ased TV pro!rammers. ut truth 'e told, viewers do not always see reason and this is why the 'e!innin! o5 a ne!ative in5luence o5 TV shows happen. Reality show like 'ig 'oss was seen to 'e e8ceedin! TRH ratin!s which are why they roped in the i! to represent i! *"the se?uel o5 'ig 'oss/ 'ig 'oss *. .hildren, adults and women watch it all the same. There is intri!ue in watchin! people lead their normal lives in the vicinity o5 an enclosure over a period o5 time which 'rin!s to li!ht emotions and drama and one would wonder whether this has a positive, ne!ative or any in5luence at all on society. It has sometimes, a neutral e55ect on society 'ecause o5ten, there is no si!ni5icant impact that is had on children 'y viewin! a normal kind o5 TV show like 'ig 'oss 'ut the 5act that they portray drama and emotions runnin! wild at times !ives ideas and this leans towards ne!ative in5luence.

References ;rank, . 1*$$), ,uly %3. .heck out why youn! viewers like reality pro!rammin!.

roadcastin! K .a'le, 7)), 7F Ci!ht, .. 1*$$73. +e'atin! reality"TV. .ontinuum# ,ournal o5 Media and .ultural Studies, 761)3, *((N)(6. Aa'i, R.-. 1*$$%3. +eterminin! dimensions o5 reality# > concept mappin! o5 the reality TV landscape. *ournal of 'roadcasting 0 1lectronic $edia, 67, )%7)($. Aa'i, R.-. and Others 1*$$)3. Reality 'ased television pro!rammin! and the psycholo!y o5 its appeal. $edia %sychology, 6. Reality'ased television pro!rammin! and the psycholo!y $edia %sychology, 6, )$)))$. Aa'i, R.-., Stitt, ..R., Cal5ord, ,., K ;innerty, 2.-. 1*$$D3. Emotional and co!nitive predictors o5 the enjoyment o5 reality'ased and 5ictional television pro!rammin!# >n ela'oration o5 the uses and !rati5ications perspective. $edia %sychology, F, @*7@@% Rowen, . 1*$$$3. Cistory o5 reality TV. Retrieved on ,anuary 6, *$77, o5 its appeal.

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