Obsessed with the Reality

Every night many people "set up camp" infornt of their televisions waiting anxiously for this weeks episode of their favorite reality television show. What is our obsession with watching average people live in a house together, or our fixation with a rock star looking for love?
When MTV's The Real World came to Oxford looking for its next "roommate", hundreds of college kids lined up outside of The Levee hoping to get their fifteen minutes of fame. The Real World is a reality tv favorite. The show is about the interaction between seven "strangers" all living in one house. The cameras are on 24 hours a day 7 days a week catching the roommates doing everything from sleeping to fighting. Every week thousands of people tune into see what they will do next. Why is everyone so interested in what seven random people are doing? You have to admit it is pretty entertaining watching people you don't know live in an amazing city, getting drunk, hooking up, working, and fighting. Basicly they are doing everything you are not doing at that moment. It proves to us, by watching the show, that we as people are not the only ones making mistakes, having bad days, or missing someone we love.
Rock of Love, my personal favorite, is also a reality tv show focused on average people. But, Rock of Love differs from The Real World in many ways. The main difference is that on Rock of Love the girls are all after one thing. They are all out to win the heart of Poison front man Bret Michaels. Every Sunday night at 8 o'clock my tv is tuned into VH1. On every show the girls are competing for Bret's time and attention. They take part in challenges where the winner receives alone time with Bret. The challenges range for motorcyle building, football games, and a good ole dance off. Rock of Love is not the only show of its kind where a super star in search of love turns to reality tv. 1990's rap superstar Flavor Flav jumped on the reality ban wagon by staring in the show Flavor of Love. What makes these shows so apealing? Who am I kidding, who hasn't had a crush on a celebrity and thought, " oh what I would give to have a chance." The girls on these reality shows are given that opportuity we have all dreamed of. Bret Michaels and Flavor Flav are not my type, but don't get me wrong, it makes for great tv!
As long as we lust for celebirties and need reassurance that we are not the only ones making mistakes reality television is not going anywhere. Untill the voids are filled within our own lives we will settle for out weekly dose of reality television to fill in.