It's 7 p.m. on a Monday night. You've just locked the front door and turned off your cell phone. With a pint of ice cream and a box of tissues handy, you are ready to settle in and watch another unpredictable episode of "The Bachelorette".

I'll admit, I am super guilty of this too. I was one of the many confused viewers when JoJo decided to keep Daniel after the drunken pool stunt. I gasped along when Chad seemed to be a threat to everyone. And I am not ashamed to say that I screamed like a frightened child when Luke said he loves JoJo right before she was about to cut him at the Rose Ceremony. Something about a show claiming to be unscripted with real everyday people calls to us on several levels. However, how much "reality" is actually involved?

First of all, let's look at why we, as a society, are so drawn to reality television. We spend our days living within social norms that have been set for us, minding to stay away from anything taboo to avoid public ridicule. However, watching scandalous things happen to the people on reality shows allows us a chance to mock these scandals without fear of looking unsympathetic, since that is just how you are expected to react while watching reality shows. It is the same reason we are drawn to zombie movies where men eat men: we are given the chance to laugh at something that we would find disturbing if it happened in front of us. When something scandalous happens on The Bachelorette, we are given the opportunity to talk about it freely. You see various posts on Twitter. Magazine covers are plastered with the juicy details. However, if this was something that happened to someone we knew personally, we would either not offer up our opinions or talk about them in secrecy.

So, just how much "reality" do we actually see on these shows? I've recently started watching a show called Unreal, which is about a fictional show (much like the Bachelor) called Everlasting and the people who run it. Many people who have worked on reality shows say that Unreal is a very accurate portrayal of what happens behind the scenes. According to Unreal, if you are a participant of a reality show, the show runners will look as far into your personal life as they can and exploit anything they find. For example, in one episode of Unreal, there is a girl from Alabama who had picture of herself in a Confederate Flag bikini on Instagram. When she came to the show, she felt that it would not be appropriate to wear in front of such a diverse group as she did not want to offend anyone. The show runners convinced her to wear it anyway, stating that she shouldn't hide who she truly is. However, they just wanted to stir up controversy since the suitor that season was black.

Another thing they do to ensure free flowing thoughts and actions is make sure everyone always has a drink in their hands. If you watch The Bachelorette you can actually see this. They will also create conflict where their is none. For instance, they might tell one of the participants that another was talking behind their back. This helps prompt an argument or other incident while the cameras are rolling. Most importantly, though these shows claim that nothing is scripted, they definitely create scenes that would not happen on their own. In the first episode of this season of The Bachelorette, a previous Bachelor came to talk to JoJo right before the first Rose Ceremony took place. All of the teasers leading up to this moment insinuated that he was coming to tell JoJo that he loved her, insuring that the views kept watching until the episode's end. However, he only came to wish her luck. I don't know about you, but I have a very hard time believing that something like that happened on it's own precisely at that moment. Likewise, I cannot honestly believe that Luke would express his love to JoJo right before a Rose Ceremony, right after JoJo told the viewers that he was who she intended to send home (something, by the way, she has never before done) without being prompted to do so. It is safe to assume then that there is no such thing as true reality television.

So why do we continue to watch these shows? It is not hard to figure out the little tricks and deceits, so why do we still fall for them? I can only explain why I personally continue to watch them with a full knowledge that it is all fake. It is exciting to watch scandal. It is exciting to know that you are watching it with others who are likely reacting the same way you are. Moreover, it is a very freeing feeling to be "allowed," if you will, to talk openly about someone else's taboo doings. We continue to watch the blunders of others because it makes us feel better about our own lives. It lets us, for two hours each week, forget that we are twenty-three years old, living back at home, and working at a job that has nothing to do with what we went to college for. It allows us to feel better about our own sins, like they're not as bad compared to JoJo's. But most of all, they are just plain fun to laugh at.