You come home from school and grab a bag of chips. You throw your book bag on the ground because there is no way you are picking it back up until at least 10 o'clock at night. You plop down onto the couch, grab the remote and turn on your favorite TV show, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” It's been a pretty horrible day at school, and you imagine if you could live the life they live. Wouldn't it be amazing? Real world problems don't even pass through your mind as you envision this dream life. This is a pretty typical day for a lot of Americans. Whether it's coming home from work or school, reality TV can be an amazing way to forget about your problems and priorities. This obsession we have with reality TV is really hurting our productivity and perception on what is "reality.”
I am just as guilty as any other person. I can admit that I am completely obsessed with the Bachelor. It's very exciting to see 20 women fall in love with a man that MAY fall in love with one of them. Surprisingly, my nonexistent love life doesn't even cross my mind because I'm too busy imagining if I have 20 guys falling all over me. A full day marathon always helps to cure any problem that I have.
In reality, this kind of television is just an embellished sense of life. A lot of times these people aren't even living the lives that are shown on television. How is it that we have allowed ourselves to completely fall in love with the idea of a fake reality? Shows like these have made us think that something like that is actually a reachable goal. Instead of living our lives to the fullest, we believe that we could be as rich as the Kardashians or have 20 men fall in love with us. Maybe we should focus on creating our own reality instead of seeing a fake one portrayed on television. That time you spend laying on the couch could be time that you are out perusing your dreams.
So, the next time you want to plop down on the couch, just remember that the shows that you watch aren't going to make your problems disappear. Don't allow yourself to fall into dreaming about something that may not even be obtainable. I know it may seem like that may help distract you, but trust me, you can be doing more.
