Every summer, one of my best friends goes slightly rogue. She becomes difficult to contact, especially on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday nights; and spent all of last July yelling "pissed", "never cared", and "team friendship". The primary cause of this behavior has come to plague me as well this summer, as I fall prey to one of the trashiest reality shows on-air today (and this is coming from someone who hasn't missed an episode of Dance Moms in six years): Big Brother.
Now, for those of you who have yet to fall into its intriguing grasp, Big Brother is a reality show that seems to be a solid mix of Survivor and Bad Girls Club. Sixteen people are admitted into the "Big Brother House", where they compete each week in physical challenges to earn advantages, but vote to "evict" one person from the house on Thursdays. The "house guests" spend their time forming alliances and working to improve their social game in order to avoid elimination. The show takes it so far that they even offer a 24 hour monitoring system where viewers can watch the house guests at any given moment. It does not matter whether they are sleeping, arguing, or just having regular conversations; their daily lives are constantly on display.
This summer, I have taken to watching the show for the first time, and while it has provided me so much entertainment, I have found several setbacks in the commitment that it requires. This week, new episodes were on four times this week. If I am not watching Big Brother, there are always episodes available to catch up on. In fact, I am watching the newest episode as I write this article. It never ends.
Furthermore, the frequency of the viewing opportunities that BB presents causes me to get too wrapped up in the lives of the remaining house guests. For example, early this morning I awoke from a nightmare during which Jessica and Cody broke up, Paul was eliminated and the house descended into general chaos. I am in deep, people.
Big Brother has also set me up with unrealistic expectations for how everyday life actually functions. When I have an interaction with, say, a grumpy customer at work, I cannot just go into a confessional room and stare at the camera like Jim from The Office. I cannot vote to evict any problem that comes my way, and when I explained the "Head of Household" concept to my family, they were less than eager to adapt it for our own daily lives.
And because the structure of the game is so fascinating and complex, I find myself mentally inserting myself and everyone I know into the game, trying to determine who I would try to ally myself with, and who would be the first to be evicted, etc. I can sit and zone out for thirty minute chunks of time, lost in my own mental game of Big Brother. I finally understand the appeal of fantasy football.
However, despite the constant commitment, unending drama, and high expectations that Big Brother presents to its viewers, I am still addicted to this show and I'll miss it so much when summer is over. Lucky for me, I have 18 seasons to go back and watch before next June.