To the group of people arguing at the table next to me the other morning before my 8 a.m. about reality TV and whether it's considered to be part of pop culture,

It's a shame that I value timeliness and I was running late because I insisted that I finish my coffee; otherwise, I would have argued with you.

I enrolled in a popular culture course this semester because I have a major interest in it and I claim to have more knowledge on the topic than the average Joe (at least I'd like to think so). I thought, however, that it was commonplace to know that "pop" is simply an abbreviation for "popular" and that whatever is popular, is made so by the people of the region that the culture is being evaluated.

I fully believe that reality television is, and always will be, a large part of pop culture.

It's extremely popular among all ages of the American population, and the proof is in the longevity of shows such as "Survivor," "American Idol" and, of course, "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." Each of these shows have enjoyed at least eight seasons with their current networks (or previous, because "American Idol" was recently cancelled, of course) and would someone really think that said networks and producers would continue making these shows if they did not fully believe in the program's ability to, in colloquial terms, "rake in the dough"?

To answer that question, absolutely not. Too many under-appreciated television programs have received death sentences due to negative profits. Those negative profits were due to a lack of viewers. Viewers are people. Television networks want to make money, so they give their viewers what they want, hence why so much money has gone to research groups finding out how many people would still watch "The Walking Dead" after killing off certain characters.

"Keeping Up the Kardashians" has lived for more than 10 seasons. I think the people have spoken.

However, the looming question that will forever plague scholars, analysts, and people of all natures remains: if that many people seriously do not like "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," then why are people still watching it?

We the people have so much influence on popular culture and our culture in general because we help create it. Sure, the networks produce the shows and create them, but we have the power to stop watching them, so ratings will go down and then shows will ultimately be cancelled.

Why are people debating so much on whether or not reality television is a part of our culture when it is something we directly impact?

So, you, as a person, have a decision to make:

a. Change the channel when the Kardashians enter your screen and shut your mouth or

b. Admit that it's your guilty pleasure (my personal pick)

because reality television clearly isn't going anywhere.