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The reality television genre, and specific reality television shows, have been subject to significant criticism since the genre first rose to worldwide popularity in the 1990s. Much of the criticism has centered on the use of the word "reality", and such shows' attempt to present themselves as a straightforward recounting of events that have occurred. Critics have argued that reality television shows reflect reality in ways that are deceptive or even fraudulent through misleading editing, coaching participants on what to say and how to behave, generating storylines ahead of time, and staging or re-staging scenes for the cameras.

Other criticisms of reality television shows include that they are intended to humiliate or exploit participants (particularly on competition shows), that they make celebrities out of untalented people who do not deserve fame, and that they glamorize vulgarity and materialism. Actor and filmmaker Gary Oldman described reality television as "the museum of social decay", while journalist Ted Koppel questioned whether it marked "the end of civilization".

"Reality" as misnomer

The authenticity of reality television is often called into question by its detractors. The genre's title of "reality" is often criticized as being inaccurate because of claims that the genre frequently includes-premeditated scripting; acting; urgings from behind-the-scenes crew to create specified situations of adversity and drama; misleading editing; etc. For these reasons and more, there has been controversy over the extent to which reality television truly reflects reality.

In many cases the entire premise of the show is a contrived one, based around a competition or another unusual situation. However, various shows have additionally been accused of using fakery in order to create more compelling television, such as having premeditated storylines and in some cases feeding participants lines of dialogue, focusing only on participants' most outlandish behavior, and altering events through editing and re-shoots.

The 2004 VH1 program Reality TV Secrets Revealed detailed various misleading tricks of reality TV producers. According to the show, various reality shows (notably Joe Millionaire) combined audio and video from different times, or from different sets of footage, to create a false chronology and distort participant behavior and actions.

An episode of the NBC drama Harry's Law used the industry jargon "Franken-bites" and gave an example of the audio-splicing trick, which is used to force dialogue that is needed for the drama/story/script, but not actually said by the cast members.

In docusoap programming, which follows people in their daily life, producers may be highly deliberate in their editing strategies, able to portray certain participants as heroes or villains, and may guide the drama through altered chronology and selective presentation of events. A Season 3 episode of Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe included a segment on the ways in which selective editing can be used to this end.

In competition-based programs such as Big Brother and Survivor, and other special living environment shows like The Real World, the producers design the format of the show and control the day-to-day activities and the environment, creating a completely fabricated world in which the competition plays out. Producers specifically select the participants and use carefully designed scenarios, challenges, events, and settings to encourage particular behaviors and conflicts. Mark Burnett, creator of Survivor and other reality shows, has agreed with this assessment, and avoids the word "reality" to describe his shows; he has said, "I tell good stories. It really is not reality TV. It really is unscripted drama."

Some shows, such as , do not allow the participants to wear clothing of their own choosing while on camera, to promote the participants' wearing of "camera-friendly colors" and to prevent the participants from wearing the same style and/or color of clothing. Additionally, some prohibit clothing with corporate logos.

Reality television shows have faced speculation that the participants themselves are involved in fakery, acting out storylines that have been planned in advance by producers. is one notable example; the show faced allegations that its plots are scripted ahead of time. During the second season of Hell's Kitchen, it was speculated that the customers eating meals prepared by the contestants were in fact paid actors.

Daniel Petrie Jr., president of the Writers Guild of America-West, stated in 2004, "We look at reality TV, which is billed as unscripted, and we know it is scripted. We understand that shows don't want to call the writers writers because they want to maintain the illusion that it is reality, that stuff just happens."

Various alumni of the MTV reality series The Real World have related incidents in which the producers staged or attempted to stage incidents for the cameras. During a reunion show featuring the first four Real World casts, Heather Gardner, of the original New York cast, questioned members of the San Francisco cast if their situations were real, noting that situations from the original season seemed to repeat themselves in subsequent ones. On an edition of the E! True Hollywood Story that spotlighted the series, cast member Jon Brennan revealed that he was asked by the producers to state on the air that he felt hatred towards housemate Tami Roman for her decision to have an abortion, and that he refused to do so, stating that although he disagreed with her decision, he did not feel hatred towards her. Lars Schlichting of The Real World: London related an instance in which roommate Mike Johnson asked a question when cameras were not present, and then asked the same question five minutes later when cameras were present, which Schlichting added was not typical of Johnson. Producers have also been accused of selectively editing material in order to give the false impression of certain emotional reactions or statements from the castmates. New York cast member Rebecca Blasband says producers paid a man $100 to ask her out on a date, and that she terminated that plan when she learned of it. She also says that a heated argument she and Kevin Powell had in the seventh episode of that season was edited to make both of them appear more extreme.

Various participants on the 2004-2007 show Pimp My Ride, which shows cars in poor condition being restored and customized in order to match their owners' interests, have stated that elements of the show were faked. These include cars getting their paint removed and additional litter put in before taping in order to make their starting condition look worse; cars getting outfitted with elements that were removed right after taping, like a robotic arm; and contestants being coached to act very enthusiastically after the final "reveal". Participants have also said that the overhaul process, implied in the show to last no more than a few days, actually lasted 6-8 months.

Professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, whose family starred in the reality series Hogan Knows Best and Brooke Knows Best, explains in his 2009 autobiography My Life Outside the Ring that paying unionized camera crews to film subjects continuously until something telegenic or dramatic occurs would be prohibitively expensive, and that as a result, such shows are "soft-scripted", and follow a tightly regimented shooting schedule that allows for typical work-related considerations such as lunch breaks. When filming soft-scripted shows, the subjects are given a scenario by the producers to act out, perhaps an exaggerated version of something likely to be encountered in their real lives, are informed of the outcome, and possible " beats" in between, and instructed to improvise, which Hogan says is a version of what he did as a professional wrestler. According to Hogan, this would result in behavior that members of his family would never exhibit in real life, as when his son, Nick tossed water balloons at neighbors from a window, or when his wife would wake up early to apply makeup and do her hair before camera crews arrived to film shots of the couple sleeping.

Multiple takes of scenes can be shot in reality shows. Known examples include scenes on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in which families learn that they have been selected to receive a home makeover, and some scenes in The Real Housewives of New York City.

Mike Fleiss, creator of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, as well as former contestants, have stated that both shows are scripted. The Bachelorette Season 4 winner, Jesse Csincsak, stated that contestants on those series are required to follow producers' orders, and that storylines are fabricated in the editing room. Season 13 participants Megan Parris related, "I don't think [the producers] showed any real conversation I had with anyone... The viewers fail to realize that editing is what makes the show... You'll hear someone make one comment and then they'll show a clip of somebody's face to make it look like that is their facial reaction to that statement, but really, somebody made that face the day before to something else. It's just piecing things together to make a story." Parris also stated that producers "bully" and berate contestants into saying specific things to the camera that the contestants do not wish to say. Fleiss stated in an appearance on 20/20 that he develops the show's contestants into characters that will cater to his audience's tastes and that they "need [their] fair share of villains every season." On February 24, 2012, during the filming of The Women Tell All episode of The Bachelor Season 16, what should have been a private conversation between contestant Courtney Robertson and one of the show's producers went public when the microphones were accidentally left on in between camera takes. The leaked conversation revealed the producer's role as an acting coach who was encouraging Robertson to fake certain emotions for the camera which she was not feeling.

The History series depicts three generations of the Harrison family working at their family-owned Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. However, as a result of the filming that takes place there, the four main cast members no longer work the counter, due to laws that require the identity of customers pawning items to remain confidential, and the tourists and fans taking photos and video in the showroom that would preclude this. When shooting episodes of the series, the shop is temporarily closed, with only a handful of customers allowed into the showroom.

Dave Hester, one of the stars of the A&E series Storage Wars, filed a lawsuit against A&E in December 2012, saying that he was fired after he complained to the network and the production company that produces the show that the series is staged. According to Hester, the items that are seen in the abandoned storage containers that are acquired by the series' cast are appraised in advance before being planted in the containers by A&E, which pays for storage lockers for "weaker" cast members, scripts the cast member interviews, and stages the auctions seen on the show. A&E denied the accusation, saying that the show is entirely authentic.

On February 4, 2013, Russell Jay, a producer on the series Keeping Up with the Kardashians, stated in a 165-page deposition in the divorce proceedings of star Kim Kardashian and her husband, Kris Humphries, that at least two of the scenes that were shot for that series were scripted, reshot or edited in order to cast Humphries in a negative light following Kardashian's decision to divorce him.

The very premise of some reality shows has been called into question. The winner of the first season, in 2003, of America's Next Top Model, Adrianne Curry, claimed that part of the grand prize she received, a modeling contract with Revlon, was for a much smaller amount of work than what was promised throughout the show. During the airing of the first season of A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, in which a group of both men and women vied for the heart of Tila Tequila, there were rumors that its star was not only heterosexual, but also had a boyfriend already. The show's winner, Bobby Banhart, claimed that he never saw Ms. Tequila again after the show finished taping, and that he was not given her telephone number.

The international franchise Dragons' Den, which shows entrepreneurs vying to get investments from wealthy businessmen, has sometimes been accused of misleading viewers as to the seriousness of the deals being made. A 2016 analysis of the American installment of the franchise, , found that, of 237 deals shown being made, 43% did not lead to any sort of investment, and another 30% did occur but under different terms than what was agreed to on the show. An analysis of one season (2017) of the Australian installment, also called , found an even worse outcome, with only 4 of 27 investment deals shown on the show actually coming to fruition. A 2019 analysis of two seasons of the British installment, Dragons' Den, found that nearly half of the deals made on the show did not result in any actual investment.

Geoff King argues in his book, Spectacle of the Real: From Hollywood to Reality TV and Beyond that even though the contestants are in a fabricated setting and the situation has been set up for a certain outcome, as in shows such as The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, what emerges on the screen is still grounded in reality. King writes:

I would argue, rather, that the simulated setting stimulates feeling, in part because the removal of the participants from their normal surroundings strips them to nothing but the space and affect of social interaction. The intimacy that arises out of this amplified situation is real - both for the participants and for the viewers.

The Chinese singing competition (a local imitation of ) was criticized by the Chinese government for its political and cultural impact. After the finale of the show's 2005 season drew an audience of around 400 million people, and 8 million text message votes, the state-run English-language newspaper Beijing Today ran the front-page headline "Is Super Girl a Force for Democracy?" The Chinese government criticized the show, citing both its democratic nature and its excessive vulgarity, or "worldliness", and in 2006 banned it outright. It was later reintroduced in 2009, before being banned again in 2011. Super Girl has also been criticized by non-government commentators for creating seemingly impossible ideals that may be harmful to Chinese youth.

In Indonesia, reality television shows have surpassed soap operas as the most-watched programs on the air. One popular program is Jika Aku Menjadi ("If I Were"), which follows young, middle-class people as they are temporarily placed into lower-class life, where they learn to appreciate their circumstances back home by experiencing daily life for the less fortunate. Critics have claimed that this and similar programs in Indonesia reinforce traditionally Western ideals of materialism and consumerism. However, Eko Nugroho, reality show producer and president of Dreamlight World Media, insists that these reality shows are not promoting American lifestyles but rather reaching people through their universal desires.

Writers for reality television do not receive union pay-scale compensation and union representation, which significantly decreases expenditures for producers and broadcasters.

Product placement, whereby companies and corporations pay to have their products included in television programming for marketing purposes, is highly prevalent in reality television.

The following is a list of prime-time television shows with the most instances of product placement during 2011, according to Nielsen Media Research. Nine out of the ten are reality television shows.

1. American Idol, 577 in 39 episodes

2. The Biggest Loser, 533 in 34 episodes

3. The Celebrity Apprentice, 391 in 12 episodes

4. Dancing with the Stars, 390 in 29 episodes

5. The X Factor, 312 in 26 episodes

6. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, 224 in 31 episodes

7. America's Got Talent, 220 in 32 episodes

8. Friday Night Lights, 201 in 13 episodes

9. America's Next Top Model, 178 in 26 episodes

10. The Amazing Race, 161 in 11 episodes

Reality television has the potential to turn its participants into national celebrities, at least for a short period. This is most notable in talent-search programs such as the Idol and series, which have spawned music stars in many of the countries in which they have aired. Many other shows, however, have made at least temporary celebrities out of their participants; some participants have then been able to parlay this fame into media and merchandising careers. Reality TV contestants are sometimes derided as " Z-list celebrities", " Bravolebrities", and/or "nonebrities" who are effectively " famous for being famous," yet who have done nothing to warrant this sudden fame. Some have been lampooned for exploiting an undeserved " 15 minutes of fame". The Kardashian family is one such group of reality television personalities who were subject to this criticism in the 2010s.

Some have claimed that the success of reality television is due to its ability to provide schadenfreude, by satisfying the desire of viewers to see others humiliated. American magazine Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Do we watch reality television for precious insight into the human condition? Please. We watch for those awkward scenes that make us feel a smidge better about our own little unfilmed lives." Media analyst Tom Alderman wrote, "There is a sub-set of Reality TV that can only be described as Shame TV because it uses humiliation as its core appeal." A particularly infamous example of this "Shame TV" trend is 2014's I Wanna Marry "Harry", in which a cast of women attempt to win the charms of who they believe to be Prince Harry, but who is actually lookalike Matt Hicks. Following the show's premiere and subsequent cancellation due to low ratings, the show's winner, Katherine Birch, came out to Splinter News about how she and the other contestants were effectively gaslighted to believe that Hicks was in fact the prince, including being isolated in hotel rooms with no means of entertainment or communication for the week prior to filming and having a therapist (actually a member of the production crew) come on set and consult with contestants who still weren't convinced of "Harry's" legitimacy. Television critic James Poniewozik has disagreed with this assessment, writing, "for all the talk about 'humiliation TV,' what's striking about most reality shows is how good humored and resilient most of the participants are: the American Idol rejectees stubbornly convinced of their own talent, the Fear Factor players walking away from vats of insects like Olympic champions. What finally bothers their detractors is, perhaps, not that these people are humiliated but that they are not."

Allegations of violations of human dignity and human rights during reality TV has been a concern addressed by the Council of Europe.

Criticism, and a legal inquiry, were raised regarding the participation of the Gosselin children in the 2007-2011 series Jon & Kate Plus 8 (later renamed Kate Plus 8), as to whether or not the children were exploited or were under emotional distress. At the time the show was being filmed there were no clear laws in Pennsylvania (where the Gosselins resided) regarding a child's appearance on a reality show. However, Pennsylvania law permits children who are at least seven years old to work in the entertainment industry, as long as certain guidelines are followed and a permit is obtained. For example, children may not work after 11:30 PM under most circumstances, or perform in any location that serves alcohol. Both parents defended the children's involvement, stating they were happy and healthy. TLC released a statement saying that the network "fully complies with all applicable laws and regulations" to produce the show.

The 2009 balloon boy hoax, in which a father pretended that his six-year-old son was caught in an out-of-control helium balloon, reportedly in order to get publicity in order to get the family back into the reality-show business (after two appearances on ABC's ), also raised questions about the exploitation of children. In an interview with the Denver Post, child psychologist Alan Zimmerman said, "Using your family or children to please the masses, or producers of mass entertainment who want ratings and a good bottom line, is inherently risky [...] They are by definition a commodity in a profit-oriented business." The same article quoted psychologist Jamie Huysman as saying, "It is exploitation [...] Nobody wants to watch normal behavior. Kids have to be co-conspirators to get the camera to stay on."

1. ^ Booth, William (August 10, 2004). "Reality Is Only An Illusion, Writers Say - Hollywood Scribes Want a Cut Of Not-So-Unscripted Series". The Washington Post.

2. ^ "Just how real are reality TV shows? - Shows may exist in a middle ground - not fully scripted nor completely true". MSNBC. April 14, 2009. Archived from the original on April 10, 2009.

3. ^ "Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe - Reality TV Editing". YouTube. February 2007.

4. ^ "At last! The secrets of 'Survivor' revealed." MSNBC. October 7, 2008. Accessed September 2011.

5. Rogers, Steve. ^ "'Real World: Chicago' cast admits their September 11 reactions were staged". August 19, 2002

6. ^ "Interview With Coral Jeanne Smith from Battle of the Sexes and The Real World". Reality Reel. December 23, 2004. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007.

7. ^ Van Luling, Todd (February 25, 2015). "Here's What Really Happened To The Cars From 'Pimp My Ride'". The Huffington Post.

8. Christensen, Kim; James, Meg (May 13, 2007). ^ "And then the roof caved in" Archived September 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Los Angeles Times. Page 2 of 3.

9. ^ McDow, Christine (June 28, 2011). "Jesse Csincsak Talks About Ashley Hebert And Last Night's The Bachelorette". Reality TV Magazine. Archived from the original on April 22, 2012. The viewers are seeing the PRODUCED side of her show and not so much the genuine stuff, and she looks silly because of it... A LOT TAKES PLACE IN THE EDITING ROOM!

10. ^ Andy Dehnart (March 29, 2009). "Megan Parris says Bachelor producers "berate," "curse at" contestants". Reality Blurred. Archived from the original on September 17, 2012.

11. ^ Andy Dehnart (March 16, 2010). "Bachelors have sex with an average of three women, but Bob Guiney has the record with 5.5". Reality Blurred. Archived from the original on March 10, 2012. We need our fair share of villains every season. And now we're very careful in our casting...to develop characters that the audience is going to root for and root against

12. ^ "Today's TV Addict Top 5: Wildly Disturbing Quotes from THE BACHELOR creator/executive producer Mike Fleiss". Today's TV Addict. March 18, 2010. "We are very careful in our casting to develop characters that the audience is going to root for and root against." Fleiss admits that his show has less to do with "reality" than it does making good television. Which is all fine and good... if a few moments later he hadn't claimed that the whole premise was romance and the search for love.

13. ^ Kaufman, Amy (March 6, 2012). "'The Bachelor' recap: Five things you didn't see on 'Women Tell All'". The LA Times. A private conversation between Courtney and a show producer went public. During Chris' temporary hiatus, one of the show's producers went over to comfort Courtney, who was clearly very distraught after being attacked by numerous ladies. I was sitting backstage with a group of other journalists, watching the taping on a remote monitor. While Chris was gone, the camera and microphones were left on on-stage, and so the press was accidentally privy to the intimate conversation. Courtney complained she felt like a deer in the headlights, and said she'd expected at least one of the women to come to her defense. "But I didn't play with my hair once. Aren't you proud?" she added. "Yes," the producer replied. "That was good." The staffer tried to distract Courtney by talking to her about the kind of cigarettes she smokes -- American Spirits, apparently -- and the model soon began to feel better. "I'm not feeling very emotional anymore," she said, her tears dispersing. "You made me feel better. I appreciate it." Then, she began to worry about coming off as too cold: "I don't know if I can show that emotion again," she fretted. "You have to," the producer said. "This is you. [Possible spoiler alert!] This is for you and Ben."

14. Harrison, Rick (2011). ^ License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver . Hyperion. 2011. New York. ISBN 978-1-4013-2430-8 pp. 70, 89

15. Tate, Amethyst (March 14, 2013) ^ "Kim Kardashian Faked Kris Humphries Scenes: Show Producer Reveals Star Wanted To Make Humpries Look Bad" Archived September 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. International Business Times.

16. ^ Allison Kugel (December 10, 2005). "My Fair Brady's Adrianne Curry & Christopher Knight: The Raw and Uncensored PR.com Interview". pr.com

17. ^ "Report: 'Bisexual' MTV Star Tila Tequila Is Straight". Fox News. November 30, 2007. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012.

18. ^ Waters, Cara (May 17, 2018). "'I'm out': Shark Tank bites fail to net deal once show goes to air". Sydney Morning Herald.

19. King, Geoff (2005). ^ Spectacle of the Real: From Hollywood to Reality TV and Beyond, p. 97. Bristol, GBR. Intellect Books ISBN 978-1-84150-120-8.

20. ^ Li Cui; Francis L. F. Lee (2010). "Becoming Extra-Ordinary: Negotiation of Media Power in the Case of "Super Girls' Voice" in China". Popular Communication. 8 (4): 256-272. doi:10.1080/15405702.2010.512829.

21. ^ "Footage from banned Chinese "Pop Idol" receives Cambridge premiere" (Press release). University of Cambridge. July 5, 2007. Archived from the original on March 3, 2008.

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25. *^ "Elton John Trashes Kim Kardashian, Reality Television" Archived February 12, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. The Improper. February 4, 2011.
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*Marikar, Sheila (March 19, 2012). "Jon Hamm Defends Kim Kardashian Criticism". ABC News.

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Criticism of reality television - Wikipedia

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The reality television genre, and specific reality television shows, have been subject to significant criticism since the genre first rose to worldwide popularity in the 1990s. Much of the criticism has centered on the use of the word "reality", and such shows' attempt to present themselves as a straightforward recounting of events that have occurred.

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There's a scene in "Bruno" where Sacha Baron Cohen holds an audition for the "hottest baby photo shoot ever." The intent is to reveal how fame-seeking parents will agree to anything - including putting their babies in fast cars without a car seat or next to "dead or dying animals" - to get their toddlers on camera.

It would be astonishing ... if it hadn't already become so common on the small screen.

On shows such as "Supernanny," "Wife Swap," "Denise Richards - It's Complicated," "My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad," and "Kid Nation" and others, the harmful effects that come from constantly being on camera at a young age is becoming a matter of concern to child-care professionals and even fans of some shows.

And did we mention "Jon & Kate Plus 8"?

Even in this tabloid era, the disintegration of the Gosselins' marriage and the effect the TLC show and the media attention is having on the couple's young sextuplets and twins has family and show followers warning that things have gone too far.

Kate's brother and her sister-in-law, Kevin and Jodi Krieder, both of whom have appeared on the show, recently told CBS that they believed the children are "being exploited" by parents obsessed with "fame and the fortune."

While empirical data to gauge the effect of nonstop media exposure on children is hard to come by, the anecdotal evidence doesn't look good - even if the ratings are great.

* Paul and Susan Young accused "Supernanny" producers of encouraging their five sons to exaggerate their unruly behavior for the cameras on the U.K. version of the series in 2005. "They left us with children that were more naughty than when they arrived," the mother told the British press. The fact that the Young's house might have been burned down by one of the children in 2007 certainly didn't help.

* "The Real Housewives of Orange County's" Gina DeLeon believes that appearing on the show had "a devastating effect" for her children, who were not on the show initially. When series regular Laurie Waring hooked up with Gina's ex-husband George Peterson on season 2, he wanted to the kids to join him in front of the cameras. "They begged not to be on it," DeLeon told TheWrap, but "George forced them to do it." DeLeon added that the children "got teased and bullied at school, it was not a pleasant or growing experience for them."

* Professionals like Charlie Sheen and Pamela Anderson have consciously kept their children off their reality TV excursions. Sheen even fought an unsuccessful legal battle to keep his young daughters off his ex-wife Denise Richard's E! series. (For more on celebrity reality TV shows and children, see accompanying story.)

"These shows can open the kids to a level of public scrutiny, of shame and of failure," notes Dr. Drew Pinsky, host of VH-1's "Celeb Rehab and co-author of "The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism Is Seducing America." "You have to ask yourself if that is conducive to positive outcomes as they get older."

Pinsky puts the responsibility on the parents and the producers. "Children can't give informed consent by definition, only the parents can do that - and reality shows generally don't cast adults who have the highest level of mental health. They are severe narcissists who are obsessed with celebrity."

"The permanency of the images of the children potty training, bathing and having temper tantrums on camera will open them up to derision and bullying as they get older," says Paul Peterson, who starred in "The Donna Reed Show" in the late 50s and 60s.

For Peterson - who with his nonprofit group A Minor Consideration has been a long-time advocate of safeguarding Hollywood's on-camera children - long-term pain is the likely consequence of short-term fame.

"Down the line, once the show is over and the cameras have gone," he asserts, "there will likely be no help for them from predators and others seeking to take advantage of them."

There is, however, some possible help on the way. "Jon & Kate Plus 8's" treatment of the Gosselin children is now being investigated by the Pennsylvania Labor Department.

"We received a complaint, and an investigator has been assigned," Department spokesman Troy Thompson told TheWrap. "Now we're reviewing the case, which means interviewing the principles, interviewing anyone who has information and going over the company documents."

At the core of the investigation is whether the Gosselins' Wernersville, Penn., home constitutes a formal TV set, where the children are being instructed and directed. If so, it would bring the production under the state's child labor laws.

If not - if it's considered merely a domestic environment where they are being observed and filmed with little direct interaction with producers and crew - the state would have no grounds for violation, and the investigation will be closed.

The immediate consequences could be a fine - which, according to the state's laws, can range from $200 to $1,500 - or "to undergo an imprisonment of not more than 10 days, or both, at the discretion of the court." (For reality shows under fire, see accompanying story.)

TLC put out a statement on May 29, when the investigation became public, stating that it and Jon & Kate Plus 8 "fully complies with all applicable laws and regulations." Attempts by TheWrap to contact Figure 8 Film and TLC were met with "no comment."

This is not the first time that the regional authorities have taken a look at the realities children deal with on reality shows. In 2007, CBS' "Kid Nation," where children ranging from 8 to 15 competed in the establishment of a non-adult-supervised society, was investigated by a number of departments in New Mexico for playing fast and loose with the rules and safety.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, in whose jurisdiction an on-set grease accident occurred, followed up on the victim's parent's claim that the program reflected an unsafe environment and disregard for labor laws. The state of New Mexico itself threatened to get involved with the show for the hours that children were in front of the cameras.

Ultimately, the state dropped its efforts, citing not having received a formal complaint.

As for Jon and Kate, the show went on immediate broadcast hiatus after the couple's separation announcement and divorce filing. It's not expected back on the air until Aug. 4 - if it reappears at all.

The couple did put on a united face on Independence Day for a family July 4th picnic at their home, seemingly unperturbed by their estrangement or the Pennsylvania Labor department's investigation.

"No one can act like this is unknown, we have history here," Paul Peterson told TheWrap. "When Danny Bonaduce, who knows the ways of this biz, allowed cameras into his life, it destroyed his marriage. It destroyed the Loud family back in the 1970s. Now it's destroyed Jon and Kate's family."

"If you these children get in trouble in 20 years you can be sure they'll be known as one of those kids from 'Jon & Kate Plus 8,' " cautions Peterson. "That will define them."
MORE READING: 11 Reality-Show Players Have Committed Suicide

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The Consequences of Children on Reality TV

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There's a scene in "Bruno" where Sacha Baron Cohen holds an audition for the "hottest baby photo shoot ever." The intent is to reveal how fame-seeking parents will agree to anything - including putting their babies in fast cars without a car seat or next to "dead or dying animals" - to get their toddlers on camera.

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prize winning best debate in favour of reality shows ( School / college competitions)

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they must sell advertising to pay for themselves

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What Are the Benefits of Reality Television?

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Reality television shows are often called “unscripted shows” in the media. Although they do not use full scripts such as dramas and comedies do, reality shows do follow certain agendae.…

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Reality TV: The Not-So-Real Reflection of American Society

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NHD project by Maggie Herrington and Mallory Radtke

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Christina Hamlett

Ghostwriter and film consultant Christina Hamlett has written professionally since 1970. Her credits include many books, plays, optioned features, articles and interviews. Publishers include HarperCollins, Michael Wiese Productions, "PLAYS," "Writer's Digest" and "The Writer." She holds a B.A. in communications (emphasis on audience analysis and message design) from California State University, Sacramento. She also travels extensively and is a gourmet chef.

Children learn by imitation, a fact that makes it incumbent upon the adults in their lives to be positive role models. In today's media-saturated environment, however, parental influence is often diminished by the fixation that children have on the glamorous lifestyles of actors, rock stars and athletes. When parents allow celebrities to be their children's primary role models, the line between fantasy and reality sometimes becomes too blurred for imparting lessons about ethics, character and responsibility.

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According to Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, author of "Einstein Never Used Flashcards," the convenience of TV as an electronic babysitter can diminish the active use of imagination. Instead of making up their own games of pretend and inventing original characters they can play, children absorb, interpret and mimic the images on the screen as a "real" world that is far more exciting and colorful than the one they live in. Likewise, if a favorite celebrity endorses a new toy, breakfast cereal or pair of expensive sneakers, his validation of the item's worth sometimes carries more weight with a child than a parent's opinion.

The media's ongoing glamorization of celebrities behaving badly often seems to make them that much more appealing to impressionable children. No matter how many times a child is told by her parents that certain behaviors are inappropriate, disrespectful or dangerous, the double standard is still pervasive. According to Victor C. Strasburger, author of "Children, Adolescents, and the Media," a diminished emphasis on the actual consequences of wrongdoing confuses children into believing that whatever bad things celebrities do are excusable and, thus, should apply to them as well. Diane Levin, author of "So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids," further points out that the emulation of sexy female celebrities runs counter to the physical and emotional development stages of young girls; it puts them at risk of predators.

When celebrities portray parents on TV sitcoms, children may not make the connection that the stars are only playing roles. Nor do they always understand that the actors may have entirely different personalities when they are off-camera. By comparison, their own parents are likely not as funny, fair, cool or attentive without being intrusive as the stars of a fictional show. The skewed reality inherent in idolizing a TV family that can never be theirs can lead children to depression, rebellion and even a sense of unworthiness. In addition, children and adolescents who realize they will never be as attractive, thin, rich or accomplished as the celebrities they vicariously admire might decide to give up completely instead of embracing their own uniqueness and talents. Feelings of failure can potentially lead to obesity, substance abuse, withdrawal and suicide, says Dorothy Briggs, author of "Your Child's Self-Esteem."

Not all celebrities have a negative impact on the lives of young fans. There are actors who lend support to charities, athletes who launch after-school programs and comedians who visit hospitals to cheer up patients. These are the "unsung hero" aspects of celebrity personalities that make them inspirational and worthy of admiration. If your children choose celebrities as their role models, it's important to discuss with them the specific traits they like, respect and want to imitate; talk about whether these actually reflect the idol's true values.

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Should Parents Allow Celebrities to be Their Children's Role Models?

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Children learn by imitation, a fact that makes it incumbent upon the adults in their lives to be positive role models. In today's media-saturated environment, however, parental influence is often diminished by the fixation that children have on the glamorous lifestyles of actors, rock stars and athletes. When parents allow celebrities to be...

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For Heather Havrilesky it was more than stuff. It was her father's life. Photographs of old girlfriends she never met. Books. An old driver's license. Heather's father had died, but as she writes, "how do you say goodbye to someone else's things without losing a piece of that person forever?" [source: Havrilesky].

Then Heather began to watch TV shows about hoarders. She decided to do something about her own problem. She went into a "cleaning frenzy, rifling through my closets and driving big bags of old stuff to Goodwill" [source: Havrilesky].

Such is the power of reality television. While many people think that reality TV is nothing more than a series of freak shows, some serve the greater good. A good deal of what is on TV can be very useful to the viewer. Although hoarders have been around for centuries, shows such as "Hoarders" and "Hoarding: Buried Alive" have increased public awareness about a serious mental health issue [source: Pina]

"Extreme Makeover" was once criticized for making plastic surgery seem risk-free. In fact, there was a spike in people seeking plastic surgery every time the show aired. By the time the show ended, however, it depicted the reality of the surgical procedures [source: Jaffe].

While reality shows are mainly produced as entertainment, many convey important information about diet, weight loss, health and fitness [source: Kaiser Family Foundation]. For example, although many say TV's most controversial reality shows, MTV's "Teen Mom" and "16 and Pregnant," glamorize teen pregnancy, some believe the shows act as a form of high-tech birth control [source: McMahon].

In 2009, the teenage pregnancy rate in the United States dropped to its lowest levels in 70 years. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy released a survey in 2010, in which 87 percent of teens who had watched MTV's "16 and Pregnant" felt the show educated them about becoming a parent at such a young age. Only 17 percent felt the show glamorized teen pregnancy [source: McMahon].

Reality shows also reflect a more diverse nation. A 2008 report released by the NAACP said non-whites are underrepresented in almost every aspect of the television industry -- except for reality programming. It's not that reality shows are more racially or culturally sensitive. Frankly, mixing people of different races, genders, sexual orientation and cultures creates conflict, and conflict sells [source: Braxton].

And, at the end of the day, isn't making money what reality TV is really all about?

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What is reality TV's influence on culture?

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For Heather Havrilesky it was more than stuff. It was her father's life. Photographs of old girlfriends she never met. Books. An old driver's license. Heather's father had died, but as she writes, "how do you say goodbye to someone else's things without losing a piece of that person forever?"

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Vicki Clinebell majored in journalism at the University of Colorado, and headed an advertising agency before beginning a long career in broadcasting, spanning production and copywriting to sales and management for an ABC affiliate statio...

Reality television is an odd mix of inflated egos, bad behaviour, great talent and trash. From the mostly-inspirational Biggest Loser to the celebration of conspicuous consumption on Keeping Up with the Kardashians to the talent shows - American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance and The Voice - the genre provides enough variety to keep us glued to our sets. But is reality TV appropriate for children to watch?

Reality television is a pop-culture phenomenon intriguing millions, even as we don't quite understand why people would let cameras and the world intrude into their lives and private spaces to expose how they live and behave. The reality check on the "why" should be obvious: It makes them rich and famous. Yet we often see oafish behaviour and a focus on shallow values as more emphasis is placed on appearances than substance. Is this a life lesson children can learn from?

The good, the bad and the others

Not all reality shows are harmful to a kid's view of the world. Some expose them to lives utterly unlike their own and engage them with new ideas they've never considered. On Dirty Jobs, affable and easy-going host Mike Rowe mucks his way through jobs no career counsellor would ever recommend. Watching Mike clean out a sewer is nasty and humorous and teaches kids a lesson about the hard work some people have to do to make our everyday lives possible. Discovery Channel's Man vs Wild has an underlying theme of how to survive in the wilderness. Good to know - especially when you can watch from the safety of your own living room. It's got enough nasty elements (eating live bugs, for instance) to please kids, and the host is engaging and hunky enough to keep mom's attention, too.

Your kids watch So You Think You Can Dance? Then it's a good bet you'll see more dance routines around your kitchen floor. And while these performances won't warrant a thumbs-up from the actual judges, seeing children transported and creatively inspired is not such a bad thing. There's a reason shows like Dancing with the Stars and American Idol are such rating winners for their networks. Some reality shows are the most family-friendly programs aired on television these days.

Should children watch Jersey Shore, Kim and Khloe Take New York, or Toddlers in Tiaras? Maybe not. But curling up on the couch together to watch other reality shows can be entertaining for both the children and the adults. You just have to remember that, like all other types of television entertainment, choices in the reality-show genre should be monitored by the parents first. It's up to you to decide which ones make appropriate viewing for your own children.

More about reality TV
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Kim Kardashian receives apology for staged comment
Reality TV news

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It's pop culture, but is it good for kids?

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Vicki Clinebell majored in journalism at the University of Colorado, and headed an advertising agency before beginning a long career in broadcasting, spanning production and copywriting to sales and management for an ABC affiliate statio... Reality television is an odd mix of inflated egos, bad behaviour, great talent and trash.

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Orlando Teen Counselor on Reality TV Effects on Girls Self-Esteem | Parent Tips | Girl Scout Researc

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Getty Images

It's been a tough year for some kids on reality shows.
VIDEO: Are Reality Shows Safe for Kids?

From Here Comes Honey Boo Boo to Friday Night Tykes to the kids of Real Housewives with parents getting divorced or going to jail, it could be hard to understand why a parent would want to broadcast their child's development for all the world to see -- even if they're able to pay for college down the road with talent fees.

Child advocates who we spoke to said that there aren't enough regulations, especially for shows shot outside California, to protect kids from being overworked and exploited. Unlike the push for a "no kids" policy in paparazzi photos -- which was supported by Kristen Bell and other celebrity parents -- there's been no coordinated campaign focused on kids on reality shows.
WATCH: Is Fame Responsible for Honey Boo Boo's Weight Issues?

None of the producers, child advocates or former reality show stars ETonline spoke to for this story favored an outright ban on casting children on reality shows -- or thinks such a thing is even possible. However, they generally agreed on the need for stronger legislation protecting kids on unscripted series, and better enforcement of existing law, where it exists. As it stands now, one advocate claimed, in some locations animals on set get better protections than children do.

"The American public is the biggest problem," said Jon Gosselin, a reality star who found fame with his wife and kids on TLC's Jon & Kate Plus 8. "They want to see reality shows."

For four seasons, the eponymous TLC reality show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo served up the antics and sassy remarks of veteran child beauty pageant contestant Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson. Last year the show was swiftly canceled after reports that its matriarch, June "Mama June" Shannon, allegedly started dating an old flame, convicted child molester Mark McDaniel. Then Shannon's eldest daughter, Anna "Chickadee" Cardwell, told ET that McDaniel had abused her when she was 8 years old. (Shannon denied renewing the relationship with McDaniel.)

On the show, Mama June was often shown plying Boo Boo with "Go Go Juice" -- a crude concoction of Red Bull and Mountain Dew -- and other junk food, including a special pre-pageant competition treat of 15 packs of Pixie Sticks.

Now aged 9, Alana Thompson weighs 125 pounds, which she blamed primarily on steroid treatments for asthma. "We don't eat cheeseballs," Shannon insisted to ET. "We don't eat snack cakes. Production used to bring that in." Now Mama June is pitching a new idea: Honey Boo Boo gets healthy.
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Gosselin now advocates for stronger laws protecting the rights and welfare of children on reality shows. "Why is NASCAR one of the most watched sports in America? They're looking for the wreck. If people didn't want to see reality shows with kids, there wouldn't be a market for it."

Spectacular personality clashes are standard fare for reality shows, to such a degree that they frequently spill over from the set to the courtroom.

Take reality star Bethenny Frankel, who leveraged a role on Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York City into a spin-off ( Bethenny Ever After), a short-lived daytime talk show and her Skinnygirl Cocktails line. She fought a very public, ferocious legal battle with her ex-husband, Jason Hoppy, over their 4-year-old daughter, Bryn -- and Hoppy argued that Bryn would be better off far away from mom's camera-saturated lifestyle.

The Real Housewives of Orange County's Tamra Judge and her ex, Simon Barney, have also fought over their kids appearing on the show post-divorce. Beverly Hills' Brandi Glanville and her ex, Eddie Cibrian, often swapped snipes about custody arrangements on their respective reality shows. (Cibrian's VH1 series with new wife LeAnn Rimes, LeAnn and Eddie, was canceled in 2014.) And after New Jersey's Teresa Giudice went to prison in January, her 13-year-old daughter, Gia, gave interviews in which she discussed her mother's sentencing while promoting her own musical group.
NEWS: Teresa Giudice's Teen Daughter Releases Scandalous Music Video, But Did It Really Cost $10K?
Some celebs who have survived adolescence or young adulthood in the public eye have strong feelings about passing that legacy on to their kids. "I just want my kids to try and grow up as normal as possible," Jersey Shore alum Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi told ETonline as MTV wrapped production on her second show. "I don't want them to get used to having a camera in their face."

Tori Spelling, who appeared on the teen drama Beverly Hills: 90210 at age 17, insists her four children -- ages 2 to 7 -- "always come first," even when her Lifetime reality show True Tori chronicled Spelling's discovery that her husband, Dean McDermott, was cheating on her. Spelling told ETonline, "If at any point the kids say, 'I don't want to do that anymore, I don't want to be on camera,' it all goes away."

Child labor laws vary greatly from state to state, and there are no federal laws that protect kids on reality productions. (Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois recently advocated for Esquire Network to cancel its youth football series Friday Night Tykes, calling it a "shameful, dangerous display" that "directly endangers the health of children.")

"California by far has the strongest laws," said Paul Petersen, chairman emeritus of A Minor Consideration, an organization that provides support to child stars via advocating legislation and family education, and who himself was a Mouseketeer on the The Mickey Mouse Club when he was 10. "But [some states] actually use the absence of child labor laws as a production lure."

In California, there are clear limits on the number of hours worked, educational requirements, and a requirement that 15 percent of a child's gross earnings must be put into a trust. (New York, Louisiana and New Mexico have similar requirements for talent fees to be set aside.) Producers on California sets with working children are required to hire studio teachers -- a state-licensed professional responsible for the safety, welfare and education of minors.

"Children are treated as props," said Julie Stevens, a studio teacher and owner of Double 19 Productions, a production company that manages children. "Nobody is looking out for them except for the studio teacher." And, she says, "It's up to the studio teacher to intervene if there's a problem."
VIDEO: Bieber's Mom's Advice to Parents Of Child Stars
But their influence can be limited. "The studio teacher has no teeth to enforce the law," said Linda Stone, a studio teacher who has over 30 years of experience. "I can call the DLSE [Division of Labor Standards Enforcement], but I don't hear back because they're so busy. So it's up to me to call production companies and to try and intimidate them. Usually that works."

California Labor Commissioner Julie Su said the DLSE is responsive. "Studio teachers can and do report violations to any of our offices," she said. "We have a goal of a 24-hour response time to child labor violations on set, especially if it is a complaint of a hazard or moral issue,"

But Stevens said that without a consistent enforcement mechanism, it's risky for studio teachers to speak up. "I've been fired by a producer who did not have the right to do that, just because I was doing my job," she said.

Still, California's laws are the gold standard, and other states are playing catch up -- some with more success than others. Pennsylvania's State Rep. Tom Murt, who worked to pass a 2013 law there that adds some protections to child actors, told ETonline that he became an advocate that because of local productions such as Jon & Kate Plus 8 and Dance Moms. He plans to propose an amendment requiring special representatives on set, and is also making a push for set teachers.

Though protecting children would seem politically expedient, he said his efforts cost him political capital. "As soon as they got wind that we were going down this road, entertainment industry lobbyists got involved," said Rep. Murt. "They said that if these laws are too strict we'd drive productions out of Pennsylvania. We're willing to work with them, but without child labor laws, kids could be filmed 24/7. A child's innocence would be auctioned off to the highest bidder."

Gosselin asked ET, "How do we know that networks and production companies aren't going to different states and looking at their state laws and going, 'This is a free-for-all state, we can do anything we want there.'"

Stone echoed that concern. "I've been called to work in Tennessee and I'll ask why, and they say, 'Because we can get Tennessee kids who can work till 2, 3 or 4 in the morning.' I'll ask them if they would want their own kids to do that, and they'll say no, but they'll say, 'I don't want my kids in the business.'"
NEWS: Snooki and JWoww Reveal Why They Don't Want Their Kids on Reality TV!
Entertainers in Tennessee are exempt from the state's child labor laws, and when asked about the possibility of kids filming late at night, the state's Labor Standards Unit confirmed that Tennessee does not regulate minors on reality shows. But the state does require a court to approve their contracts.

Petersen, the child advocate, contrasted regulations around children in reality shows and animals on sets. "There's a [disclaimer] from the American Humane Association at the end of movies that says, 'No animals were harmed.' We need one of those for children, too. Spiders get more protections than kids."

To earn that American Humane Association seal of approval, productions must adhere to a very strict list of guidelines -- including an on-set safety rep -- that the organization's chief veterinary officer, Dr. Kwane Stewart, said were stricter than any local, state or federal regulations. But there's no equivalent organization holding out the carrot of approval for treatment of kids.
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One producer ETonline spoke to -- who requested anonymity because of fear of retribution from professional colleagues -- said that the use of animal training techniques on children was in fact a common topic of conversation among show crews.

"You do what you can to get children in a good mood," the producer said. "Sometimes that's giving them toys. Sometimes that's candy." One common trick, the producer said, was to literally dangle sweet treats in front of kids until they delivered the perfect quote. "It's like teaching a dog tricks," the producer said.

But it's not a bleak picture for every child reality star. Though Lifetime's Dance Moms is volatile -- it's a dance competition show that often ends in tears, shouts and thrown chairs -- one of the most well-known alums still praises main mom and dance studio owner Abby Lee Miller. "I can't even believe I'm doing all this stuff now," said 12-year-old Maddie Ziegler, who recently appeared in Sia's music video and in live performances on the GRAMMYs and Saturday Night Live. "Sia found out about me because of Dance Moms."

"I think the biggest misconception of the show is that I'm just this dance teacher from Pittsburgh that screams at these kids," Miller told ET. "Not true. I have an entire wall of headshots of dancers that are working professionally, and that's what I set out to do -- to create employable, working dancers."

Though 13-year-old Paige Hyland, one of the show's other young stars, made headlines when she and her mother sued Miller for a range of claims, including name calling, illegal work hours and the fear of physical violence, a judge threw out that lawsuit. (A criminal case against Paige's mother, Kelly Hyland, alleging that Kelly assaulted Miller, is still pending.)

If parents are on board, a reality show contract could net a college or trust fund to be used by the children later. "Eighty percent of the gross of the show, including endorsements, went into the children's trust funds for four years," Gosselin said. "It wasn't required. We did that for our children. Their school, through college, is paid for. That's over a couple million dollars." He and Kate, he added, lived off the other 20 percent. "We didn't live a highfalutin life."

Gosselin said as his family's show became more popular, and he had more clout, he was able to push back at TLC. "[Producers] would be like, 'Oh, can you walk through the doorway one more time in 2 degree weather?' And I call the network [and say], you need to fire this producer. And they would."

But it can be hard for even well-intentioned parents to stand up and insist better treatment. "Parents let production companies and networks supersede what they think is best for their children," said Gosselin. "The networks say, 'It would be more interesting if your kids did this.' Or, 'Your ratings will go up if you get them to do that.' They pressure you to ignore the welfare of your own children."
NEWS: Jon Gosselin: My Kids Have Developmental Problems

For children working on reality shows today, advocates maintain state-by-state protections are inconsistent and entirely insufficient. "The guys in Washington are not making this a priority," said Rep. Murt. "They're just not doing it." Rep. Murt plans to reach out to federal legislators directly to spur action. "It's not necessary to totally ban children from reality TV, but we must do a better job protecting children who work in the entertainment industry."

Though Honey Boo Boo is off TLC, mother and daughter say they have put last year behind them and would be willing to sign on for another show documenting their lives.

"I'm open to doing it again," Honey Boo Boo told ET, as long as the production schedule was less constant. "I couldn't do what we were doing," she said. "That's just not something to do for a 9-year-old."

"We've had an amazing adventure in the kids' life in the past three years," Mama June told ET. "If we never get back on TV again, I'll say thank you."

Gosselin still wrestles with the role he played. "You're producing good television off the backs of your children. You have to still be a parent and protect them -- because who else is going to protect them if your state doesn't have any laws?"

And, he cautioned, it was likely too soon to let himself or other parents off the hook. "We don't know what the potential dangers are yet -- our kids are still kids. We don't know the potential effects of reality television on them until they can actually conceptually grasp what they lived through. That's something I didn't think about when I signed the contract. I just filmed."

Additional reporting by Leanne Aguilera and Denny Directo.

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Getty Images It's been a tough year for some kids on reality shows. VIDEO: Are Reality Shows Safe for Kids?

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The genre that was supposed to be the death of civilized society has become-at least some of it-the best primetime programming for parents to watch with kids.

Greg Gayne/FOX

Thirteen summers ago, when a pair of shows called Survivor and Big Brother debuted on CBS, there were uneasy cries that reality TV was coarsening our civilization. Contestants were encouraged to lie and backstab one another! People were eating actual rats! What was going to be next: snuff films?

Thirteen years later, you can debate how well reality TV, overall, has fulfilled its promise as a hell-bound handbasket. But I do know this: when the regular TV season ended last week and the summer premiere season started, it was an exciting time at home, because it meant Masterchef was coming back, and we could watch it together with the Tuned In Jrs.

Reality TV is a big, diverse medium, of course: some of it is raunchy, some of it ugly, some obnoxious (like tonight's despicable let's-fire-someone-fest Does Someone Have to Go? on Fox), and some of it very, very good. In other words, it's not unlike scripted TV.

But another funny thing has happened over the past generation: reality TV has also become the new version, and maybe the last bastion, of primetime family viewing. It's not just Masterchef: nearly every TV series my wife and I watch with the Tuned In Jrs. is a reality show.

We handicap The Voice contestants' odds every week. The Amazing Race has given us a whole new perspective on airport travel. Shark Tank captivates the kids, and has shown me-one of the least entrepreneurial people I know-what a fascinating process valuing a business is. Top Chef, Chopped, Market Warriors-if it involves cooking or selling something, we'll watch it. Other families I know, anecdotally, are into Storage Wars or Duck Dynasty (the latter, I guess, much like families in the '60s were into The Beverly Hillbillies).

Most of these are competition reality shows, which is no accident: like sports, reality shows like these are a genre of TV that can appeal to kids' and adult interests without denying either one. Most of these series are made for adults, often without any particular goal of being all-ages entertainment.

But on their own terms, they reflect things kids-at least, the Tuned In Jrs.-are interested in: competition, creation, scorekeeping. They make performance more exciting, or they game-ify aspects of adult life, like cooking or traveling or making money. And though "appropriate" is a relative term, they tend to do it in relatively clean terms. (OK, last night's Masterchef included a contestant who cooked roadkill, resulting in about five million "beaver" double-entendres, but if they didn't sail over the Jrs.' heads, it's because they've heard far worse on the school bus.)

When people complain that there are fewer good TV shows for families to watch together, it's often assumed that means that TV has become more vulgar or adult. Which of course is true in some ways, but really the overall trend is simply that, as TV has become more various and fragmented, it's become more specific. Everyone has their own demo-targeted TV now, children and parents alike. We actually live in a pretty great era for kids' TV, and I've written endlessly here about great shows that could only exist in a time of many cable outlets and greater creative license. But most adults have limited tolerance for shows written for kids, and it will be years before I show the Jrs. more than the opening titles for Game of Thrones. (Which they love.)

And by the way, that's fine. Like any parent now, I find navigating media with my kids to be a challenge sometimes. (Enough with the gross subway ads, please.) But I don't expect, or want, media to cater to my particular concerns as a parent.

People sometimes assume that, because I'm a TV critic, I'm permissive about what my kids watch. Just the opposite-there are many things I watched as a kid that I would not let my own kids near. Yesterday, when news broke that Steve Forrest, star of the '70s drama SWAT, had died, I was overcome with nostalgia, for a show that was pretty much a constant barrage of heavy-weapons fire (with a great theme song). What the hell was I doing watching this when I was seven years old?:

I remember enough to know that the good old days were not always as kid-sanitized as we may want to think. (We recently re-watched the original Bad News Bears, a fantastic movie about kids-which also happens to include underage drinking and a zillion racial and homophobic slurs.) And while I may miss The Cosby Show-we've been marathoning reruns from the DVR-plenty of the "family" sitcoms from my childhood, however warmly I may remember them, do not exactly hold up well. I'm glad instead that my kids are growing up in a time that has created primetime series like Lost-which they can watch, later, when they're older.

In the meantime, I'm grateful for reality TV. If it's sending society to hell, at least the kids and I can go there together.

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The genre that was supposed to be the death of civilized society has become-at least some of it-the best primetime programming for parents to watch with kids. Thirteen summers ago, when a pair of shows called Survivor and Big Brother debuted on CBS, there were uneasy cries that reality TV was coarsening our civilization.

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"Happy clappy" sitcoms are out of favour with tweens and teens and that's a good thing, writes Lakshmi Singh.

What do reality television shows The Block, MasterChef and Australia's Got Talent have in common?

Your child.

According to a TV Tonight report, in 2011, those three shows were the most popular with children under 15.

It seems that feel-good family oriented sitcoms, popular with tweens and teens of the past generation have given way to talent quest shows and experts say that this is not necessarily a bad thing.

Competency based programs showcase hard work and discipline, while graphically depicting the euphoria of success and and the bitter disappointment of failure. In contrast, popular family sitcoms of the 80s and 90s like The Cosby Show or Full House featured safe, insular worlds, in which a happy ending was assured.

Laura Kiln, internationally recognised parenting expert and owner of Laura's Place, a practice where she offers counselling to families, cautiously endorses reality TV saying some shows expose children to a wide spectrum of issues and offer useful advice without sugar-coating difficult matters.

Kiln notes that a show like The Biggest Loser can help children develop empathy by observing the severe impact of weight problems on contestants' lives, especially in cases where the children's own families have no experience of obesity.

Where weight is an issue in a family, the show can help to bring parents and children closer together and inspire them to achieve their weight loss goals.

"Imagine a family that all want to get fit together and want to lose weight or get into exercise, well then if they all watch The Biggest Loser together, and they go 'right, we're going to exercise together and eat sensibly together', then it becomes a whole family thing and that's using reality TV in an incredibly positive way," says Kiln.

She adds that the resolution focused nature of sitcoms elides psychological complexity. "Nothing can be too dramatic, because it has to be dealt with in that one session". Whereas, in shows like Masterchef, tensions ebb and flow throughout the whole series, Kiln notes.

Instead of imposing the "happy, clappy, love everybody" lessons of sitcoms on children, reality TV shows often grapple with challenges that a child may be facing in real life, she says.

"If you think about the average classroom situation, as a class, the kids have to pull together and do stuff as a class. But there will be people within those classes that don't get on. But they have to learn that you don't have to like him or [that even if] he annoys you, he's got irritating habits of doing something, you've got to learn to get on with what you're doing for yourself and not be drawn in."

Another positive aspect of reality TV is its broader array of cultural representation.

Emma Ashton, Australia's reality TV expert agrees.

"It's got to be remembered that reality TV was probably one of the first shows on our screens that showcased diversity. What I mean by diversity is people of different ethnicities, people of different sexualities and people of different ages. When you look at Australian soaps [and popular sitcoms], they were pretty Anglo-Saxon, pretty straight, up until now," she says.

Ashton is glad that her own daughter watches reality TV shows rather than the tepid sitcoms of the 70s and 80s, which depicted "traditional male, female role models."

This diversity on display in reality TV shows has convinced Ashton that, if viewed with adult supervision and input, they can be a powerful tool to help children understand the "real society, the real community that we're currently living in in Australia".

Kiln also stresses that adult supervision is the key to making the most of reality TV's educational potential.

"Kids are like little sponges. They just absorb everything. Not always the good stuff. And that's what happens with the TV shows, they don't always absorb the positive messages, they are going to absorb the negative messages. That's why that's down to parents to try and have it as more of a family viewing [experience]," she says.

It's doubly important for parents to police the viewing habits of children under eight, as they are especially impressionable, says Kiln.

But it's not all good news. Often the subtle (or in the case of Kyle Sandilands telling Kate DeAraugo to lose the "tuck shop lady arms" on Australian Idol, not so) messages on these talent shows can lead children to believe that good looks are a greater determinant of success than talent.

In fact, an American Girl Scouts Research Institute study, which looked at the impact of reality TV shows on tween and teen girls, revealed that 38 per cent thought that a girl's value is based on her appearance.

The hothouse atmosphere and deceptively easy path to success depicted on talent shows is another element of the genre that alarms Ashton.

"It's only a small percentage of people that actually find fame from shows. A lot of people go back to their ordinary lives [after the show]", she says.

Ashton, whose business Reality Ravings Consulting helps aspiring contestants craft their reality TV show applications, has seen many people quit their jobs or put their education on hold to participate in a reality TV show.

"I'd still advise kids, if you want a good career, better go get a university degree and then apply to a reality TV show. Sure, you might be one of the lucky few to get noticed from it, but 95 per cent of people don't."

It seems that kids are heeding this advice, with a recent article in The Age reporting an increase in the number of HSC and university enrollments in dance and music, all attributed to the trend of young people watching reality TV. This upswing is interpreted as a positive sign by some educators as participation in the arts encourages creative thinking - something that employers value.

The TV Tonight analysis also revealed that fly-on-the-wall documentaries like Bondi Rescue ranked highly with kids under 15.

Kiln says that some of these "real life" shows can act as an ice-breaker and prompt difficult or neglected conversations between parents and their children.

"Organ donation isn't on top of people's list of things to talk to the kids about, but if you watch the fly-on-the wall TV of life in an emergency department the subject will come up and can be discussed," she says.

Girl Scouts researcher Kimberlee Salmond also highlights reality TV's "role as a learning and motivational tool".

"For example, we know that many girls receive inspiration and comfort from reality TV and that 62 per cent of girls say that these types of shows have raised their awareness of social issues and causes."

In an age where parents are accused of bubble-wrapping their children and coddling them too much, reality TV may not be such a bad thing after all.

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"Happy clappy" sitcoms are out of favour with tweens and teens and that's a good thing, writes Lakshmi Singh. What do reality television shows The Block, MasterChef and Australia's Got Talent have in common? Your child. According to a TV Tonight report , in 2011, those three shows were the most popular with children under 15.

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Kids have become the hottest commodity on reality television - but at what price?

Precocious, cute-as-a-button participants, some as young as eight, have lured millions of viewers to shows like "MasterChef Junior," "Child Genius" and "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?"

Now - as NBC begins production on the new variety series "Little Big Shots" and Lifetime prepares to debut "Project Runway Junior" on November 12 - some experts are again questioning the long-term impact on children whose lives are suddenly thrust in front of a worldwide audience.

"The actual work may, in fact, be quite fun and the compensation levels might be rewarding, but who is looking at [their well-being over] the next 10 years?" asks Paul Petersen, a former child star of "The Donna Reed Show" and head of the child advocacy group A Minor Consideration.

Petersen and 800 other former youth actors and athletes continue to lobby the United States Department of Labor to ban participants under 18 from any type of reality TV production until a clear set of "national standards" can be adopted.

"We are trying to guarantee a safe and protected workplace with limited hours, oversight by a licensed professional mandated to report abuse, and guaranteed set-asides so the children have something if for nothing other than their therapy bills when they turn 18," Petersen says.

The majority of broadcast network shows (think: "American Idol") are produced in California under state guidelines designed to ensure underage participants receive on-set schooling and have their earnings kept beyond the reach of unscrupulous guardians.

But for years, loosely scripted documentary-style programs like "Kid Nation," "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" and "Jon & Kate Plus Eight" set up production with non-union crews in states where there was little or no regulation to ensure fair treatment of young talent.

"Many children on reality shows historically have not been paid," Petersen says.

Compensation, however, is of secondary importance to many young hopefuls on performance and variety driven shows like "The Voice" or "America's Got Talent."

"The money isn't the reason you are doing these shows," notes Bob Sonenclar, whose daughter Carly Rose was a finalist on season two of "The X Factor" at age 13.

"You are trying to raise your profile. You are trying to get discovered."

John Hotchkiss, an executive producer on the 2008 series "My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad," says he now believes kids should be kept away from the camera altogether until they are old enough to understand "what it means to be on television."

"You think you know what it means to be on TV, but you don't know what the production company is going to do when they edit [the show]," he tells FOX411. "You don't know where it is going to be broadcast or for how long. If you are the awkward kid on a TV show or the kid that messed up the scrambled eggs, that could follow you around for the rest of your life."

Long term psychological damage and self-esteem issues should not be underestimated, says Erica Spiegelman, wellness expert and author of "Rewired: A Bold New Approach To Addiction and Recovery."

"I really believe that there are long-term issues that can come out of being too competitive at a young age," she tells FOX411. "A show like 'Toddlers and Tiaras' which is a competition based on looks is going to be very psychologically damaging versus something like 'MasterChef Junior,' which is a little bit more healthy."

The newest wave of kiddie competition shows do appear, by many accounts, to be taking more steps to protect their young participants from exploitive or embarrassing situations.

Most shows now employ on-set psychologists to counsel young contestants about how to handle the pressure of appearing on national television.

"Going into it, my daughter knew there would be ups and downs," Sonenclar tells FOX411. "[Today] she is very happy and leads a normal life. The experience hasn't been damaging to her psyche at all."

"MasterChef Junior" has taken the additional step of eliminating children in groups of two or more so no one feels singled out.

"There was definitely a lot of support there," says Mark Weiss, whose 12 year-old son Alexander was the show's first winner in 2013. "The entire production team was really wonderful and looked out for all the kids."

Alexander, like many "MasterChef Junior" contestants, walked away from his experience with life-long friends who all share a common interest in cooking.

"The kids would do their filming during the day and at night they would all swim in the hotel pool together," Weiss says. "It was like they were all best friends."

John Hesling, CEO or Shed Media, described a similar sense of camaraderie and social acceptance on the set of Lifetime's "Child Genius."

"Some of the children are home schooled and because they are so advanced, they are in classes with people 10 years older than them," he told TheTVPage.com in January. "Some of them don't have friends their age but what they got from it, when they came to the competition, is that suddenly they were coming across children who were like them.

"There were 9-year-olds having incredible games of speed chess or competing over who knows the most decimal points of Pi.

"Obviously there is drama and excitement on the program," he says. There is tears and laughter... [But] It is not an exploitative show."

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Are reality TV shows dangerous for kids?

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Kids have become the hottest commodity on reality television - but at what price? Precocious, cute-as-a-button participants, some as young as eight, have lured millions of viewers to shows like "MasterChef Junior," "Child Genius" and "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?"

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Kevin Bliss

Kevin Bliss began his professional writing career in 1994. Since that time he has completed over 15 feature-length screenplays. He has also had articles published in "The Journal of Modern Screenwriting." Bliss received his Bachelor of Arts in English from Arizona State University and his Master of Science in film (with an emphasis on screenwriting) from Boston University.

Reality television has spread like wild fire, leaving little doubt that your children are likely to come across multiple examples of this type of programming - even those with casual viewing habits. It may leave you wondering what the potential impact of this is. Examining what is already known about reality shows and their influence on children can help you make informed decisions about how to handle the issue in your own home.

Reality television consists of programs which purport to showcase people appearing as themselves in a variety of different contexts. Many reality programs revolve around competitions; others feature celebrities in their everyday lives. There are shows that center on small groups of otherwise unknown people, probing their interactions with one another. Additionally, you'll find shows that focus on teen pregnancy and the lives of teen moms. Whatever form they take, reality shows seek to create entertainment from the uncertainty of unscripted moments and events. They also look to present shocking, awkward or otherwise inflammatory situations - a consistent characteristic of most reality programming. Many of these shows are edited to create a specific theme or outcome, making them less reality.

Children who view reality programs have been shown to suffer ill effects from the content of such programming. One Australian study revealed that children who watched reality programming were significantly more likely to associate wealth, popularity and beauty as factors that contribute to happiness. It's no surprise that these are values frequently held in high esteem by many participants of reality shows. What's more, certain other reality programs such as "Fear Factor" that feature participants involved in disgusting or dangerous behavior inspired attempts to duplicate these acts by some younger viewers.

Although not all reality programming involves underage participants, some do. These have also been shown to have a negative impact on the children involved. An environment in which kids find themselves surrounded by cameras much of the time has the tendency to make the challenges of growing up that much more difficult. Additionally, when competitive reality shows incorporate children, there is an added pressure and sense of rejection when things don't work out. The Canadian newspaper "The Globe and Mail" reported in 2009 on a program called "The Next Star," which focused on kids under 15, placing some contestants in embarrassing situations and leveling criticism (albeit constructive) at them on national television.

Needless to say, focusing on limiting the exposure your kids have to television is a good start to prevent reality TV from "taking over" in your house. You should explain to your children that reality shows are decidedly not reality. That stipulation goes a long way toward setting boundaries of behavior. Moreover, it's important that you or your children don't become passive recipients of the shows' messages. You should identify the values presented by each show and discuss those in depth with your kids to maintain a balanced view of what's important.

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Reality television has spread like wild fire, leaving little doubt that your children are likely to come across multiple examples of this type of programming - even those with casual viewing habits. It may leave you wondering what the potential impact of this is. Examining what is already known about reality shows and their influence on...

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A seven year old was left in tears after being critiqued on 'America's Got Talent' this week, forcing many to ask if someone so young should even participate in a reality competition show. For more informaton please visit http://www.hlntv.com/video/2012/05/23/should-kids-be-banned-reality-tv-shows

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Cast of the "Real Housewives Of Orange County." Researchers say people who watch reality television have a warped perception of what's normal. (Photo: Creative Commons)

Most of us can't help it: We find loathsome reality shows full of self-promoting blockheads so doggone entertaining. We might admit our TV guilty pleasures to close friends under the confidence that they'll keep our peccadillos under wraps. Or maybe we admit them openly, but always with an air of shyness to let the listener know that we know our addictions are shameful.

But what is "reality" television's real impact on viewers? How do shows like "The Real Housewives," "Jersey Shore," "The Hills" and "Laguna Beach" affect how people perceive "the real world" to be? Like any addiction, what are the negative consequences of our collective reality TV compulsion?

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In a paper titled "A Snooki Effect? An Exploration of the Surveillance Subgenre of Reality TV and Viewers' Beliefs About the "Real" Real World," researchers from the University of Wisconsin found that shows that purport to be "real" actually negatively impact the way TV viewers think of the world. For example, they found that people who watch shows like "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" were more likely to report thinking that the cattiness and backstabbing that takes place between the sisters is par for the course.

Pacific Standard reports that after surveying 145 undergraduate students about their reality TV habits, University of Wisconsin researchers discovered that people who watch lots of "reality" shows were more likely to think that bad behavior, cheating, and having sex on the first date were status quo. From the paper:
Heavy viewers of surveillance programs were more likely to think females in the real world engage in inappropriate behaviors (e.g., arguing, gossip) more than males. Exposure to surveillance programs also positively predicted beliefs about the prevalence of relationship discord in the real world. Implications for cultivation research, reality TV, and accessibility are discussed.
The researchers note that producers of what we've come to call "reality television" employ various tricks to keep the audience entertained. In addition to letting us peek into the often-glamorous worlds that are not our own, reality show producers like to show dramatic scenes between people in romantic relationships. It's aggression, not admonition, that make for what they consider good television.

"The data presented in this study are correlational, and thus definitive claims about reality TV's effects on viewers' beliefs cannot be made from the data," lead researcher Karyn Riddle cautions, according to Pacific Standard. "After all, it could be the case that people who see the world as filled with relational strife and drama-especially on the part of females-might simply be attracted to reality TV programs."

Riddle says that more research is needed before any firm conclusions can be made, but that there's certainly a link between watching "docu-soaps" and how viewers perceive reality.
Read more from iScience Times: Babies Pakistani TV: Host Aamir Liaquat Hussain Gives Away Abandoned Babies On Live Television In Effort To Boost Ratings During Ramadan [VIDEO] Most Sexist Show On TV? 'Blachman' Has Women Strip Naked While Two Men Critique Their Bodies [Graphic NSFW Video]
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'Reality' TV's Impact On Viewers: How Shows Like 'The Real Housewives' And 'The Hills' Affect Perceptions Of What's Normal

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Cast of the "Real Housewives Of Orange County." Researchers say people who watch reality television have a warped perception of what's normal. (Photo: Creative Commons) Most of us can't help it: We find loathsome reality shows full of self-promoting blockheads so doggone entertaining.

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Wednesday on "The Real," the hosts share their thoughts on the current culture of reality TV. Tune in tomorrow for the full conversation.

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Our unhealthy love of reality TV bullying | CNN

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We love watching bullies on reality TV, but psychologists worry that the glorification of such bad behavior can hurt our health.