Remember back in the day when music television played music videos? Do you remember when great dramas and sitcoms were the norm on every station? Well, once reality television struck a chord in 2000 it was here to stay, but reality television isn’t reality television, it’s as simple as that.

If you pay close attention to the reality show you’re watching, you’ll see that every episode has a major plot line. Something dramatic always has to happen that has to be worked out. Either from getting a divorce, getting married, needing to lose weight, or having a business fail. These so-called “reality shows” are scripted for entertainment purposes to receive high viewership and ratings.

It’s depressing to know how many viewers can become fixated with reality television. They can’t seem to get enough of what’s going to happen next. Some viewers even go to lengths to reenact what they just witnessed.

A perfect example of this would be the reality show “Jackass.” This show displayed a group of guys performing stunts that were considered cheap-thrill entertainment to gain viewership. The reality is that a good amount of viewers wanted to relate with the guys, wanting to be a part of the “Jackass” group. So they would imitate the stunts or create their own videos, hoping to get recognition.

Because of this, “Jackass” had to place a disclaimer at the beginning of their show to warn viewers to not reenact any of the stunts.

More shows like “Jackass” now have disclaimers as well, such as “Ridiculousness,” “Pranked,” “Tosh.0” and so on.

It irritates me to see reality stars becoming major celebrities out of nothing. Take Kim Kardashian for instance: She’s on magazine covers, entertainment news programs, and is advertising beauty products, clothing and more. Why?

In my opinion, she hasn’t done anything to contribute to society. She made a sex tape that somehow got “leaked” and it got her noticed. Then she was offered a reality show that shows just how dysfunctional her family is.

However, credit must be given where credit is due. Kardashian is a smart businesswoman who took advantage of her sex tape release. It led to the reality show, that then led to multiple business ventures. Now she is raking in millions of dollars each year.

I’ll admit the acting on reality shows is good, but that’s the beauty of it. They’re comfortable in their own environment and can improvise. Yes, we get a look into their lives, but not their complete lives. We see only what they want us to see.

In the meantime, we might as well enjoy reality television because it’s here to stay. There’s no end in sight.